Home We'll Go
by sunshinearmin
Summary: high school au. Arumika is the main, though eremin and eremika are discussed. Mostly just the fluff my heart needs
1. Chapter 1

**Home We'll Go**

 **Chapter One**

Armin was staring at Eren from across the room. Eren was bickering with Sasha, which was a rather normal occurrence. Armin liked the way Eren's green eyes flashed when he was passionate about something, even if what he was passionate about was winning a pointless argument against Sasha. With his chin resting on his hand, Armin wasn't aware of what was going on around him, he was so lost in focus on Eren. Well, he was until Mikasa decided to drop a book on his desk. "Waaahh!" Armin jumped, almost flipping his chair over with the force of how quickly he pushed back from the desk.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, her voice unperturbed by his reaction as she picked her book back up.

"What?" Armin looked up at her, his brain scrambling to come out of panic mode and process what she had said. "Nothing."

Mikasa's gaze flicked between Armin and Eren. "Why were you staring at Eren?"

"I wasn't. I was staring off into space. That space just happened to be in the same general direction of Eren, I guess." Mikasa's facial expression didn't change at all and Armin could feel his face flushing slightly red. "Maybe I was staring at Sasha. Did you think of that?"

"No." She said simply. "I know you." Just then, the bell rang, marking the end of their 8th period study hall, and the end of their school day. Armin thanked his stars as he grabbed his bag and slipped out of the room. Mikasa was one of his best friends, more than that really, and he certainly trusted her. But being called out was embarrassing to him, particularly having it happen at school were Eren could have overheard. He knew those particular feelings were unrequited, and didn't want people knowing about them. To be honest, he usually did his best to squash those feelings, though like today, sometimes they snuck through.

"Armin, wait up!" Armin resisted the urge to sigh as he spun around and smiled at Eren, who was pushing through the crowd to catch up to him. Sometimes, Armin just really wanted some separation, but since he couldn't explain why, he couldn't get any. And it could be exhausting. "Where are you booking it off to?" Eren asked as he reached Armin.

"Maybe he has a date." Mikasa said, sliding up alongside the boys.

"Don't be ridiculous! Who would date Armin?"

"Thank you for that." Armin just shook his head. And just like that, the feelings would go away. It was like magic.

"I'm sure there are plenty of girls who would want to date Armin." A voice from behind them said, and an arm was thrown around Armin's shoulder.

"Thank you, Sasha." Armin said, turning to look at her.

Apparently, she wasn't done speaking, however. "Or boys. I'm not trying to be heteronormative. I mean, he is rather small, and sort of feminine looking. One could make an argument for androgynous. But plenty of people go for that." She waved her hand nonchalantly.

Armin just stared at Sasha for several moments. "I know that you think you're helping, and I appreciate the sentiment, but I really don't think you are."  
"Stop being ridiculous, Sasha!" Eren exclaimed.

"I'll stop seeming ridiculous when you stop being so close minded!

"How dare you call me close minded?" Eren was yelling now.

"I'm going to go get his by a bus." Armin said softly, shrugging out of Sasha's grip and moving towards the door.

"Okay, have fun." Eren said, clearly not paying attention.

"Eren!" Mikasa scolded, followed by a thump. She'd probably just smacked Eren, but Armin couldn't be sure with his back turned.

"Ow! What the hell?" Eren exclaimed, confirming Armin's suspicions.

"Pay attention when people speak to you."

"What? Wait, Armin! What did you say?" Armin just gave a wave as went out the door. "Wait! Armin!"

He'd only made it a little ways down the sidewalk when he heard a different voice call his name. He spun around and gave Mikasa a smile. "Hey."

"I didn't mean to upset you."

Just like Mikasa to cut right to the point. "I'm not upset."

"I'm just trying to protect you. We've talked about this before. Eren will-"

"Mikasa, I know. I've- I've always known. And I remember our pact. It was just a stupid moment. I got over it quick."

"Good. Then let's go home." Mikasa started walking down the sidewalk.

"Wait, what? What about Eren?" Armin called after her.

"What about Eren? He's going to be arguing with Sasha over the pettiest stuff for the next twenty minutes, and I'd much rather spend that time getting home and relaxing than listening to those two."

"Fair enough." Armin shrugged before setting off after her. Getting a snack from Mrs Jaeger would definitely be more enjoyable than listening to Eren squabble. Not to mention some alone time with Mikasa.

Mikasa slung an arm around his shoulders when he reached her. "I doubt he'll even notice we're gone."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Armin sat at the table, working on his chemistry homework. He looked up and gave a smile to his grandfather as he came into the room. "Home already? I thought you'd be out with your friends."

"I'm going out later." Armin said, returning his attention to his notebook.

"How much later? It's a school night."

Armin stared up at Grandfather. "Seriously? You don't make any sense. Two seconds ago, you were telling me that I should be out with my friends. Now you're telling me not to because it's a school night?"

"You're putting words in my mouth. Who are you going out with, anyway? I know the Jaegers aren't letting their kids out on a Tuesday night."

"That's….not important." Armin said, looking down. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his friends besides Eren and Mikasa, but rather that Grandfather couldn't keep any of his other friends straight in his mind and therefore asked about a million questions.

His answer was not a satisfying one to Grandfather. "Armin Arlert, are you going out with a girl?" The older man crossed his arms.

"What? No!" He exclaimed automatically. But then he thought about it. "Well, technically. I mean, Annie's going. But so are Reiner and Bertolt."

"That seems suspicious. And where exactly are the four of you going?"

Armin was about to say that it wasn't important when he decided not to. It would not help his cause. So, he decided on a different tactic. "Grandfather, I really have to finish this work." He held up his notebook.

"I see how you're going to play this. Fine, do your schoolwork. But know that you're not leaving this house until I'm satisfied with the details of your evening." Armin just shook his head as he watched Grandfather set about starting dinner. The man could be _so_ overprotective sometimes. "You used to be such a good kid. I don't understand what happened to you." Grandfather grumbled.

"Puberty." Armin said absentmindedly as he finished the last problem. "My brain is going through changes. All sorts of hormones and chemicals. Biology has doomed me."

"Alright, wise ass. I never had these issues with your mother."

"That's because she was a girl. Again with biology dooming me." He closed his book and slowly stood up. His phone had buzzed, telling him Reiner was outside. "Though, I do recall her getting pregnant at 17. Bit of a problem, really." With that, he turned and dashed out of the kitchen.

"Now hang- Armin!" Before Grandfather could catch him, Armin was down the hall, grabbing his coat off the hook in the process, and out the front door.

"Run!" He said to Reiner as he leaped the porch steps and the boys took off down the street. After about a block, they slowed to a walk. Armin knew Grandfather wouldn't chase him that far.

"So, you had to stage a prison break, huh?" Reiner smirked, catching Armin in a headlock.

"Stop it. Get off!" Armin wriggled, trying to get loose. In response, Reiner just ruffled his hair. "Unbelievable." Armin said as Reiner finally let him go. He straightened his shirt and pulled on his jacket. "Keep your hands to yourself, this evening. Your husband might get the wrong idea." It was a long standing joke that Reiner and Bertolt were basically married in the way they behaved.

Reiner let out a mock sigh. "Ah, the old ball and chain."

"Lack of appreciation is one of the leading causes of divorce." Armin said, setting off down the street. "And we're going to be late if you don't stop messing around." Armin wasn't entirely sure how he had ended up with these three going to a basketball, a sport he knew very little about. To be fair, he didn't know much about any sport. His family was not sports people. But when Reiner has come saying his father had won tickets, of course he agreed to go. He was rather confused, though, when he found out Annie was going along. Bertolt, obviously, but Reiner had never seemed _that_ close to Annie. To be fair, none of them really were. Annie was sort of that fringe friend that they'd hang out with when she was around, but they never went out of their way for. A thought struck Armin as they boarded the bus that would take them downtown to the arena. "How come your dad isn't coming?"

"What do you mean?"

Armin let out a tiny sigh as Reiner motioned for him to sit down first, leaving Armin smushed against the window as Reiner sat down next to him. He might be small, but that wasn't negated by how big Reiner was. "Well, he's the one who won the tickets, right? So why isn't he going?"

"He….doesn't really like basketball." Something about his answer seemed off to Armin.

"Then how did he…or rather why…" Armin was so flooded with questions that he couldn't seem to settle on one. But he decided to take a different approach. "Why Annie? Nothing against her, of course, but I just thought if you had two tickets, and you were inviting me, you'd be inviting Eren too."

"Eren's mother would never let him out on a school night."

Reiner had him there. Mrs. Jaeger had a hard enough time keeping control of her son as it was. She certainly was not letting him out galivanting around town on a school night. She'd never get him up for school the next morning. "Okay, well why not Connie then? Does Annie have a particular proclivity for basketball that I'm not aware of?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Reiner shrugged his shoulders.

"Wha-then why? Connie would have loved to-" Armin was struck by another thought. "Do you like Annie?"

"Of course I like Annie. Why else would I invite her?"

"Not what I meant. Are you trying to date Annie? Do you need me to be your wingman?" The bus arrived at the stop.

"What? No! What's with all the questions? Is this an inquisition?"

"You're deflecting." Armin said as he climbed off the bus.

"No, I'm not. I just want you to stop with the interrogation."

"Fine. But I'm onto you."

"No, you're not." Reiner said as they walked up to the gate. Armin could see Bertolt and Annie. Bertolt waved to them from their spot in line. "You're really not."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Armin ended up on the end of the row, with Annie seated on his right. On her right was Reiner, and then Bertolt. Armin wished he was next to Bertolt, who was really into the game. He'd be able to answer Armin's questions about what on earth was happening. But it would be rude to try and shout over two people.

Annie kept trying to make small talk, something she clearly wasn't very good at. Armin couldn't help but feel like the pair of them should not have been paired up in this situation, since neither of them had any idea about the sport they were watching, and therefore couldn't even have a one sided conversation about that.

But the worst thing was that every few minutes, Reiner would look over at them with this weird expression on his face. Armin couldn't quite put a name to the expression, but it was starting to annoy him a little. Why was he doing that? Armin figured that Reiner knew something he didn't and it was irking him.

After a while, Annie abruptly stood up. "I'm going to the concession stand. Do you want to come?" she asked, looking at Armin.

"Uh, sure." Armin said, rising to his feet.

"Can you get me a pretzel?" Bertolt asked, leaning around Reiner.

"Get it yourself." Annie replied.

"I'll get it for you." Armin said, stepping into the aisle and motioning for Annie to go first. He wasn't super excited to go spend some one-on-one time with Annie. They didn't really have a lot in common, and if he was being entirely honest, she was just mean sometimes. But he'd put up with almost anything to get away from Reiner and his annoying facial expressions. So, down out of the seats they went, and around behind to the concession stand. They got into the back of the line and stood quietly for a few slightly awkward moments before Armin finally spoke up, "So, uh, good seats, huh?" He wanted to cringe from how dumb his comment was.

"I don't think so. From what I understand, people usually want to be closer to the court."

"Why? You can't see everything from down there."

"Yeah, but you could get sweat on or punched in the face or something. I don't know. Guys are weird."

"Right." Armin looked down at his feet as he went quiet for a few moments. "So, are you and Reiner good friends?"

"Eh." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "We grew up together. He's alright. Bertolt's better. More quiet, less annoying. Like you."

Armin wrinkled his face in confusion as he looked at her. "Um, thanks….I think." He was pretty sure that was supposed to be a compliment, in some sort of back handed way. "So, uh, how did you end up getting asked on this adventure?"

"I asked to go." She answered simply.

Armin blinked several times. "Y-you _asked_ to come? A- a budding interest in basketball?" His mind was reeling.

"No. I heard Reiner had tickets and asked if I could come along."

Armin was more confused than ever. Why hadn't Reiner just said that Annie had asked to come along? And why had Annie asked to come along? What the hell was going on? They reached the front of the line and Armin was even more surprised when Annie didn't order anything. Why had she wanted to come down here? Armin ordered Bertolt's pretzel, and two sodas. One for himself, and one for Reiner. Reiner hadn't asked for one, but Armin knew his friend well enough to know he'd be asking for sips of Armin's and then drink the whole thing. He was as bad as Eren, in that respect. "You sure you don't want anything?" He asked Annie.

"Yeah, I changed my mind. I'm going to the bathroom." With that, she turned on her heel and walked off.

"Your girlfriend's kind of scary." The guy working the concession stand said.

"Oh, she's-she's not my girlfriend." Armin said, collecting his things and walking away.

As he walked, he could have sworn he heard the guy say, "Well, somebody had better tell her that."

Armin climbed back up and sat in Annie's seat. He handed Bertolt his pretzel and then held out Reiner's soda towards him. "I got you a soda."

"Oh cool, thanks. I was-" Reiner started to reach for it, but Armin jerked it back away from him.

" _But_ you don't get it until you explain just what the hell is going on tonight."

"Oh, come on, Armin."

"I'm not kidding, Reiner."

"I can't-"

"Then it's my soda." Armin locked eyes with Reiner and took a long sip.

"You suck, Armin." Reiner huffed, crossing his arms. Meanwhile, Bertolt had a shit eating grin on his face as he looked between Armin and Reiner.

"You know something." Armin said, looking at the other boy.

"Unfortunately, and I for one, am _delighted_ that it's not working because-" He leaned in close to Reiner and said in a mock whisper, "I told you so!"

"Shut up. I'm not speaking to either one of you."

Armin was hit with a thought and looked at Bertolt. "Bertolt, switch seats with me."

"With pleasure." Bertolt replied. He stood up and slid down to the empty seat next to Armin.

"Thank you." Armin replied.

"You've got to be kidding me." Reiner groaned.

"You're just mad because your stupid plan backfired, like I told you it would." Bertolt grinned, munching on his pretzel.

"I wish someone would tell me what this plan was." Armin muttered as he stood and slid down to sit in Bertolt's now vacated seat.

"That we can't do, as we are sworn to secrecy under penalty of a very painful death." Bertolt said, taking the extra soda that Armin had left there and taking a sip.

"Are you serious? That wasn't for you." Reiner said in a voice that sounded an awful lot like he was whining.

"Well, it certainly wasn't for you." Bertolt smirked.

All three boys grew quiet as Annie returned. She stared each one in the face for a moment before silently returning to her seat. They all sat quietly for a few more moments, watching each other out of the corners of their eyes. Suddenly, Annie grabbed the soda out of Bertolt's hand. "Mine now." She said, taking a sip. Bertolt just grinned in response.

A few minutes later, Reiner started reaching towards the soda Armin had put in the cup holder. Quick as lightening, Armin reached out and smacked Reiner's hand. "Ow! What the hell, Armin?" Reiner exclaimed, pulling his hand back.

"I told you no." Armin heard Annie laugh.

"You suck." Reiner said, crossing his arms.

"So, you've said."

They all sat quietly for a few more moments before Reiner spoke up again. "Annie, can I have a sip of your's?"

"Fuck off." She replied.

"Oh, come on! That was supposed to be mine!"

"Sucks." She said simply, shrugging her shoulders.

"You guys are the worst friends! Are you seriously going to make me go get my own soda?"

Armin found himself making eye contact with Annie around Reiner. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes that matched the smirk on Armin's mouth. "Yes." They said in unison.

"Don't bother. The game's just about over." Bertolt chimed in.

"Oh thank god." Annie said, rising to her feet.

"It's almost like you don't like basketball, Annie." Bertolt said in a teasing tone.

"Shut up." She replied.

Soon enough, they were standing outside. Annie had managed to sidle her way up next to Armin. "This was fun. We should hang out again sometime."

Armin just looked at her. "Uh, sure." He finally replied. "Maybe not basketball, though."

Annie cracked a rare smile. "No, definitely not basketball."

Armin gave her a small smile. "Yeah. Well, I've got to get home. My grandfather's going to kill me for being out this late." He nodded to her and Bertolt. "So, good night."

"Right. Night, Armin. See you tomorrow." Bertolt smiled, clapping Armin on the shoulder.

Armin turned and started walking towards the bus stop. Reiner fell into step alongside him. "So, are you going to tell me what all this was about?"

"No." Reiner replied.

"Fine. I'll figure it out on my own. Thought you were my friend. I guess we're not as close as I thought."

"Oh, don't do that." Reiner groaned as the bus pulled up.

"I'll do what I like." Armin said, climbing onto the bus, "And you can sit by yourself."

"Seriously? All of this was to help out a friend."

"Not me." Armin said, sitting down next to an older lady so that Reiner couldn't sit next to him.

"You're being a dick, Armin. I think you've been spending too much time around Eren." Reiner sat in the seat behind Armin.

Armin spun around to look at Reiner. "I'll have you know that I have my own distinct personality. Just because I'm not a pushover this evening doesn't mean I've become someone else."

Suddenly, the lady next to him and patted him on the leg. Armin spun back around to look at her. "That's right, sweetheart. Don't let this big brute take your autonomy away from you, sweet one."

Armin banged his head back against the seat. This old lady thought he was a girl. He took a deep breath and gave her a smile. "Thank you, ma'am." It wasn't worth it to try and correct her. Instead, he just spun around to look back at Reiner. Clearly, the other boy had taken offense to being called a brute. "And I'm not over this feeling that you were trying to set me up for something, and I don't appreciate being kept in the dark."

"It doesn't matter."

"I beg to differ."

"Why are you being to argumentative?"

"This poor thing is just trying to tell you how she feels, and you're completely ignoring her feelings." The lady next to Armin chimed in. "You're the one being a jerk, young man."

Armin repressed a sigh. This was not the first time he'd been mistaken for a girl. "Exactly what she said." He said, nodding seriously. "Stop ignoring my feelings, you big jerk." Armin had to admit, the look on Reiner's face was priceless. He clearly didn't know how to react to what had just happened. Armin was glad they were at his stop. "So, I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow, if you stop acting like a big, fat jerk." He rose to his feet. "Good night, ma'am." He added, nodding his head to the woman before climbing off the bus. As it pulled away, he could see the woman lecturing Reiner. This had been a weird night overall. He couldn't wait to tell Eren and Mikasa about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"So, how was the basketball game?"

Armin had been resting his head on his desk when the familiar voice disturbed him. The blond lifted his head and looked into the eyes of Connie. "It was fine."

"Just fine? What happened? I mean, I listened to the game on the radio, so I know what happened, but you were there live."

Armin rubbed a hand over his face. "To be honest, I didn't really watch the game."

"You didn't- then what was the point of you going? Who goes to a game and doesn't pay attention?"

"I didn't know you liked basketball, Connie." Jean said, stepping up beside him.

"I don't really, but that's not the point."

"I just don't see why you're so upset at Armin. I mean, if you don't really care about the sport, what's the big deal?"

Before Connie could answer, a voice from behind Armin spoke up. "He's just mad that his boyfriend didn't invite him along."

Armin turned around and looked at Ymir, who was leaning back with her feet kicked up on the desk. Historia was also sitting on the desk. "I think Ymir's got it." Armin said.

"He's not my boyfriend! Stop calling him my boyfriend!"

"Look, obviously, it was date night for the husbands, and Reiner can't bring his side bitch along."

Armin glanced at Connie and noticed his face was turning a nasty shade of red, and he had his fists clenched. Historia spoke up before Connie could snap. " _Or,_ the more obvious explanation is that Reiner invited Annie along, and you don't really get along with Annie."

"More like Annie invited herself." Armin muttered.

"I bet she did." Ymir smirked.

Armin decided he didn't want to be in this conversation with Connie anymore. "Look, Connie." He said, rising to his feet. "Next time something like this happens, you can go in my place."

"You really mean it?"

Armin put a hand on Connie's shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes. "I 100% mean it."

"Oh, thanks man! You're the best!"

Armin just nodded his head, gathered up his books into his backpack, and headed to the back of the room. "Hey Historia." He smiled at the blonde. "Ymir." He nodded to the brunette.

"Hi, Armin." Historia smiled back.

Armin had found Historia cute since he met her, though a lot of people, including Ymir, said the two of them looked like brother and sister. If that was the case, he wondered what that meant about his opinion of himself….probably that he'd be a cute girl. "How's your day going so far?"

"It's going fine. How's your's?"

"It's okay."

"The two of you are so ridiculous." Ymir butted in, taking her feet off the desk and sitting up straight. "When are the two of you going to stop acting so prim and proper?"

"When I'm dead, I suppose, since that's my personality." Historia grinned, looking at Ymir.

Ymir just rolled her eyes, though she wrapped her arms around Historia's waist. "So, Annie invited herself along last night." She shifted her focus to Armin. "Tell me, was it before or after you were going?"

"Um before. She was already set to go when Reiner asked me…he just didn't tell me." He replied.

"Huh. Interesting."

"Why? What do you know?" Armin asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I don't _know_ anything. I have my suspicions though."

"What are your suspicions?"

"I'm not telling you that. I don't need you making rash decisions and it coming back to bite me if I'm wrong."

"Oh, you're awful, Ymir." Historia said in an exasperated tone.

"That may be true, but I'm still not telling him." Ymir said, crossing her arms.

"Great, now I _know_ there's a conspiracy going on. Still no closer to figuring out what it is." Armin huffed. "Well, thanks for your help, Ymir."

"Chin up, Armin." Historia chirped, patting him on the shoulder. "It's not that bad. It can't be." She gave him a smile that he had to return. She just had one of those infectious smiles.

"Yeah, thanks." He said as the bell rang, signaling the end of 4th period.

"I'll tell you, having a teacher who literally doesn't care about this class is great." Ymir said, rising to her feet.

"It's not going to last. It's only until after his test." Historia said, jumping off the desk.

"It doesn't hurt that we're two weeks ahead of schedule." Armin added.

"Yeah, everyone except Connie." Jean chimed into their conversation as they reached the door.

"What? You're making fun of me again, aren't you?" Connie demanded as they stepped into the hall.

"You never need to ask that question. We're always making fun of you." Ymir grinned.

"Making fun of who?" Eren asked, walking up.

"Connie." Armin answered. "Also, how did you get out of gym so fast? Did you skip?"

"That's true, we're always making fun of Connie. And no, I didn't skip. He let us out early. You can ask Mikasa."

"Believe me, I will."

"So, are you coming over right after school?"

"I'll have to. It's the only way. If I try and go home first, Grandfather will probably lock me in a closet or something. He's not happy about last night."

"Yeah, that was great. You'll have to tell me all the details this afternoon." Eren said before setting off.

"Yeah, see you." Armin slowly walked off towards his oceanography class.

Five hours later, Armin was sitting out on the Jaegers' back patio, having just finished his account of what had happened the night before for the third time. "I still can't believe you just bolted on your grandfather like that." Eren said, staring at him with a mixture of disbelief and admiration.

"I'm more concerned with why he was brought along in the first place." Mikasa said. "What do you think the plan was?"

"I have no idea. But it was weird because when I was talking with Ymir during economics, she seemed really interested in who had agreed to go first, me or Annie."

"Well, sounds like Ymir." Eren shrugged.

"I wonder what she knows." Mikasa said, though it seemed more like she was talking to herself than the boys.

"You and me both. She wouldn't tell me anything. Just that she has suspicions."

"That definitely sounds like Ymir then." Eren said, rising to his feet. "Now come on. Do we have to sit here analyzing Armin's life and why he keeps getting mistaken for a girl well into his teenage years, or are we going to play?" He reached down and scooped up his soccer ball.

"Not right now, Eren." Mikasa said.

"Uggghhh." Eren groaned, plopping back down in his chair.

"Stop acting like a child." Mikasa scolded.

"Yeah, can't you see Mommy and Daddy are talking?" All three turned to see Eren's neighbor, Hannes, on the other side of the chain like fence that separated the yards.

"Why don't you mind your own business, you old drunk?" Eren snapped back.

That did nothing but make Hannes grin. "Is that anyway to speak to me? Weren't you taught to respect their elders?"

"Not when they're degenerate drunks who can't hold a job."

"Eren, your mother's going to hear you." Armin said, a note of warning in his voice.

"Now, now. Listen to the voice of reason before you get yourself in trouble, little Eren."

Armin turned to look at the middle aged man. "It would help if you didn't goad him."

"Yes, but what would I do with my days if I didn't?"

"Be a productive member of society." Eren replied.

That made Hannes laugh. "Ooh, that's a good one. You get points for that one."

"Just ignore him, Eren." Mikasa said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen to your girlfriend now."

Armin immediately turned to look at Eren and managed to duck just in time. "She's not my girlfriend, you creep!" He yelled as he lobbed his ball at Hannes' face. That was the one thing guaranteed to set Eren off, no matter what mood he was in before.

Of course, all this happened right as Mrs. Jaeger was stepping outside. "Eren Jaeger, how many times do we have to have the same conversation about how you treat Mr. Hannes.?" She scolded, plunking the tray of glasses down on the table.

"Oh, no harm done, Mrs. J." Hannes laughed as he jogged to go retrieve the ball that had missed him by a mile.

"But Mom-"

"No buts. I do not want to have this conversation with you again. I would have thought Mikasa and Armin would have started to have a good influence on you by now." As she spoke, she handed a glass of juice to each kid. Apple for Armin, grape for Eren and cranberry for Mikasa.

"Thank you, Mrs. Jaeger." Armin said, taking it with a smile.

"You're welcome, Armin. See, Eren? Why can't you have manners like these?"

"Don't let him fool you. It's only because he's not at home. You should hear what he did to his grandfather last night."

"Don't you try and slander my boy now." Mrs. Jaeger leaned over and planted a kiss on the top of Armin's head.

"Uh oh, Eren. Looks like Armin's replaced you as Mommy's favorite." Hannes said as he tossed the ball over the fence.

"Why you- I'm gonna come over that fence!" Eren yelled as Hannes went back into his house.

"Eren, that is enough." Mrs. Jaeger's voice was stern.

"You heard him!"

"Just ignore him."

"That's what I said." Mikasa chimed in.

"He called her my girlfriend!" Eren sounded offended.

"It's not that big a deal. I'm sure people think she's Armin's girlfriend just as much." Armin had been taking a sip just as she said that, and proceeded to inhale it, sending him into a coughing fit. Mikasa smacked him on the back several times. He could feel his face growing hot. "Armin, are you okay?" Mrs. Jaeger looked concerned.

"Fine." He choked out, coughing several times after. He had coughed hard enough to have tears in his eyes.

"Mom, stop being ridiculous. No one would make that mistake."

"Thanks for that." Armin wheezed.

"Stop talking." Mikasa chided, rubbing his back. "Catch your breath."

"Eren, stop that. Armin is a perfectly attractive young man who I'm sure has the girls tripping over themselves to be his girlfriend."

"Not really looking." Armin coughed.

"Armin." Mikasa scolded.

"Don't be gross, Mom. Besides, he's still getting mistaken as a girl himself."

"Oh, so now I'm gross? Do I have to call your father?"

Eren hung his head. "Noooooo." He groaned. They all knew that if Mr. Jaeger got called, Eren would be subjected to a two hour lecture about respecting others and then have to go shake Hannes' hand and hug it out with Mrs. Jaeger.

"That's what I thought. Now, drink your juice."

"Yes, Mom." He sighed, picking up his glass.

"Good boy. Now, Armin, are you staying for dinner?"

"Uh, no. I think Grandfather's expecting me tonight."

"Alright, well make sure you say goodbye before you leave." She ruffled his hair. "Eren, Mikasa, I expect you to be washed up and have the table set by 6."

"Yes, Mom."

"Yes, Mrs. Jaeger." With that, she turned on her heel and walked back into the house. Armin stared at Eren for a few moments. "Is now an appropriate time to say I told you so?"

"Shut up." Eren said, rising to his feet and stalking off across the yard to go collect his ball.

Armin caught Mikasa's eye and they smiled at each other. "When are you heading home?" Mikasa asked.

Armin shrugged. "Half an hour to an hour."

"Do you want me to walk with you?"

"I think you're needed here." He said, nodding towards Eren, who right at that moment tripped over his ball and landed on his face. "Oooo." Armin winced sympathetically.

Mikasa let out a sigh. "Eren? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He grunted back. To Armin, it sounded like his pride was more hurt than his body.

"Alright then. See, he's fine." Mikasa said, returning her attention to Armin. "He doesn't need me."

"He's always going to need you." Armin said, looking down at his lap.

"He needs you too." Mikasa said, reaching over and taking his hand.

Armin shook his head. "It's not the same." He said, pulling his hand back out of her grip. "Anyway, I should go kick the ball around with him awhile before I leave, or he'll be really mad." He gave Mikasa a smile as he stood up. "Alright, Eren! Let's see if you can beat me this time." He began walking over.

Eren gave him a grin as he practically jumped to his feet. He certainly wasn't suffering any ill effects from his fall. "I beat you every time. You're truly terrible at sports. I've never met someone with as little athletic ability as you."

"Maybe I should join his team then." Mikasa called from behind them, where she remained seated on the patio. "Make it a fair fight."

Eren made a face. "Fair for who? The only way playing you would be fair would be for me to have Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, Jean, _and_ Sasha on my team, all playing against you two."

"Yeah, and that would only get him a draw." Armin grinned. "He'd still need Ymir, Historia, and Connie on his side if he wanted any hope of actually winning."

Eren looked at him. "I'd tell you to shut up, but in this case, you make a fair point. So, overall," He turned to look at Mikasa again. " _You_ are not playing."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Armin knew he had agreed that he and Annie should hang out again, but to be honest, he hadn't expected her to actually ask him, and certainly not only three days later. But he found himself sitting on the jungle gym at the elementary school playground at 730 on Friday night because he lacked an ability to say no to people. They had been here for a while now, and Annie had hardly said anything to him. So, he stared down at his feet that were swinging about a foot and a half off the ground. "This seemed so much bigger when we were in elementary school." He said absentmindedly.

"Did you go to school here?" Annie asked.

"Yeah. Got pushed off this jungle gym a lot."

"Why?"

"Because kids are mean, and nobody ever actually watches at recess." He shrugged his shoulders.

"That's awful."

Armin looked at her face and she seemed sincere. "Yeah, well eventually it stopped. Once I became friends with Eren. Well, not RIGHT after. Eren just turned into a fight." He smiled softly as he thought about it. "For a while, it was just both of us getting our asses kicked. Until Mikasa came into our lives. Eventually, the others got the message to leave us alone."

"I can't say I'm surprised Eren used to get his ass handed to him." Annie grinned.

"Yeah. It never surprises anyone. He's always been more of an act now, think later kind of person." Armin smiled back at her. "But he never failed to jump between me and a punch."

"Huh."

"What?" Armin asked. There was something about her expression. Like there was more she wanted to say.

"Nothing. It's just I didn't think he was that kind of friend."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't mean anything offensive by it. Just that you're a really ride or die sort of friend. I just didn't think Eren was like that. But I can see now."

"See what?"

"I could never understand why someone as sweet as you was friends with Jaeger, who's loud and brash and impulsive. But if he used to protect you, it makes sense."

"There's a lot more to Eren than a bad attitude, you know. It just takes a little while. But once you get to know him, he's one of the most loyal, trusting people you could ever meet. And he's incredibly kind and thoughtful and sweet. You just have to get past his rough exterior. I suspect he's rather similar to you, in that respect."

Annie looked at him with a mixture of surprise and an emotion Armin couldn't name. "You really think so?"

"I do. I think that beneath that gruff, moody exterior, you're really a good person."

Annie looked down at her lap and chewed on her lip. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to get mad?"

"That can't be good. But okay. I promise not to get mad."

"I think you're really oblivious."

Goddamn. He could see why she had wanted the promise. She just went straight for the jugular. "I'm going to need some elaboration on that point." He said quietly.

"You spend your days pining after people who won't even give you a second glance, and you miss what's right in front of you."

"And what's right in front of me?"

"This." Annie leaned over, cupped his face in her hand, and kissed him.

Armin was taken by such surprise that he just froze. Was this really happening to him? Finally, he shook himself out of his stupor and leaned back, breaking the kiss. "Oh, Annie no." he sighed softly.

"Armin-"

"It's nothing against you. You're lovely. But I just…can't." He climbed to his feet.

"Eren's never going to love you." Annie said, looking up at him.

"Oh my god. Does everyone think I'm in love with Eren?"

"Yes." Armin slapped a hand to his face. Annie continued unperterbed. "I can understand the draw. He has that charm about him, like he's completely comfortable in his skin. That must be nice. Plus, he has that savior complex." Annie climbed to her feet as well.

"Annie-"

"But he's even more oblivious than you in these matters. He just doesn't think about things like this. He doesn't seem interested. Which makes what you're doing all the more sad."

Armin rolled his head back and closed his eyes. "This is not happening." His hand slid to his side.

"Listen-"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "You're not telling me anything I don't already know, Annie. I've known all of this for longer than I've known you."

"I just want you to know that there are people who would love you. Who DO love you."

"Annie, this can't work."

"Why not?"

Armin didn't want to admit the real reason, but he also didn't want to hurt her feelings. She had really put herself out there, and he had to admire her bravery. "Because-"

"I know you're not gay, because I've seen how you look at Historia, which is another dead end. She is VERY gay."

"What the hell? Have you been stalking me?"

"I pay attention."

Armin felt his face flush hot. "Am I that obvious?"

"If you pay attention, you are."

"Oh my god, I want to evaporate right now." He facepalmed again.

"No." Annie stepped closer to him and gently lifted his hand from his face. "I think it's really sweet that you wear your heart on your sleeve, and leave your love for everyone to see. I think it's brave."

"Yeah, but I don't want people to see it. It's embarrassing."

"You're pretty cute when you're embarrassed. You get all flustered and your face turns red." She cupped his cheek. She started leaning in like she was going to kiss him again. Armin knew he had to take drastic action.

"Annie, I'm seeing someone." He blurted out.

"What?" She froze. Who?"

"That's…not important." He said, looking down.

"It's a little important, Armin."

"Well, it's not a big thing. We're not telling people."

"Are you trying to tell me that you have a secret relationship?" Annie's hand slid off his face and gripped his sweatshirt.

"Okay, hearing it, I realize that it sounds like a pretty obvious lie."

"It sounds insane." Annie stared at his face incredulously. He'd never really noticed before, but Annie was shorter than him. "And yet I don't think you're lying, which is probably even more insane."

"But you understand why I can't see you?"

Before Annie could reply, another voice called out, "What are you doing?" The voice was soft, and incredibly familiar to Armin.

He felt Annie stiffen, and suddenly, she pushed him away from her. Before he even had time to react, he was falling, and then colliding with the ground with enough force to knock all the air out of his lungs. "Ooomph!"

"We're not doing anything! I was just leaving! Bye!" From his position on the ground, he could see Annie spin around and leap off the other side of the jungle gym out of his view. He could hear her footsteps as she sprinted off. He could also hear footsteps approaching him from the other direction and suddenly, there was Mikasa standing over him, one eyebrow raised.

"This hurts EXACTLY as much as it did six years ago." He groaned.

"Uh huh. Come on." She held out a hand and he took it, letting her pull him to his feet. "Having fun?"

"Not particularly." He said, rubbing the back of his head and feeling mulch in his hair.

"Well, it sure looked like you guys were." Mikasa wouldn't look at him now.

"Mikasa, are you mad at me?"

"No. Why would I be mad? I never said you couldn't kiss other people."

"But I don't WANT to kiss other people."

"You should tell her that." She nodded in the direction Annie had run off.

"I did. In a multitude of ways." He reached out and took her hand. "Mikasa-"

"Did you mean that? That you don't want to kiss other people?" She turned and looked into his eyes.

"I did. I do."

"Well, that's good then. Because I DON'T want you kissing other people." She stepped closer and Armin could feel her warm breath on his face. "And if I see you kissing other people, I might have to kill them."

"That…is actually pretty attractive, I'm not gonna lie."

Mikasa reached up the hand that wasn't being held by Armin and cupped his cheek. "Good." She said before closing the remaining distance and putting her lips on his. Armin's free hand snaked around her waist, pulling her tight against him.

After a moment, he remembered himself and pulled away slightly, letting go of her waist. They were in a public park, after all. They could be seen. "So, if you don't want me kissing other people, does this mean I can call you my girlfriend?"

"Armin-"

He held up his hand. "Not around other people, obviously. But…when it's just us?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Under those conditions only, I suppose yes."

"Thank you." He smiled, planting a kiss on her nose.

"You have mulch in your hair." She said, lifting her hand and brushing it out. "Now, come on. Let's get out of here before she comes back and I have to kick her ass for kissing my man and then pushing him off the jungle gym." She started pulling him towards the gate.

"How did you find me anyway?"

"Your grandfather. Sometimes, his insistence on knowing everything can actually be helpful."

"Right." Armin was quiet as they went through the gate and started walking down the street. "I'm surprised you don't have Eren with you, given that it's Friday night."

"Oh, I did. I left him with your grandfather."

Armin let out a sigh. "He is not going to thank us for that." He shook his head.

"No, he's not. But could you imagine if Eren had seen you kissing Annie? He probably would have stroked out."

"First of all, she was kissing me. I was not kissing her. Get that through your head. Jot it down if you have to. And second, could we not tell Eren about the kissing thing? I don't want to deal with that."

"What are you going to tell him you were doing?"

"I'll figure it out." As they neared the house, Armin pulled his hand out of her's. The house had barely come into view when the front door swung open and Eren bounded out onto the porch.

"There you guys are! What took so long?"

"Sorry." Armin said as he and Mikasa walked up the porch steps.

"What were you even doing? Gramps said you left with Annie."

"Yeah, she lost something, wondered if I could help her find it."

Eren made a face. "Why you?"

"I don't know, man. I was just trying to be nice."

"Well, you're too nice for your own good." Eren grumbled, stepping back into the house. Mikasa and Armin followed behind, with Armin locking the front door behind them.

"Armin, if you're going to have your friends over, it would be helpful and polite for you to actually be here." Grandfather was standing at the other end of the hallway, his hands on his hips.

Armin gave him a smile. "Sorry, Grandfather. I lost track of time."

"Why do I get the feeling that Eren and Mikasa invited themselves over this evening?"

Armin grinned. "I have no idea why you'd be getting that feeling." Armin moved into the living room where his friends had already claimed their spots on either end of the couch, leaving him the spot in the middle. "My house so I get to pick the movie." He said, plopping down.

"What? No way! Guest gets to pick!" Eren replied.

"Really? Because that's not what you say when I'm a guest at your house."

"Oh come on! I really want to see the new Avengers movie."

"I don't know why. DC is better." Armin smirked.

Eren's jaw dropped open. "Don't tell me that you defected, Arlert! I will have to go home right now."

"There's the door." Grandfather said as he walked in, three glasses of orange soda balanced in his hands. "And seeing as it's MY house, I will be picking the movie." Eren groaned as Grandfather set the glasses down on the coffee table and left the room. He returned a moment later with a huge bowl of potato chips and a fourth glass of soda. He set the bowl down on the table and grabbed the remote before settling into the armchair. "I'm thinking The Great Escape. It's a war movie, Eren, you'll like it."

"Is it in color?" Eren asked, sounding rather disappointed that he wasn't getting his super hero movie.

"Yes, it is in color." Grandfather shook his head. "Now, does your mother know that you'll be spending the night here, or should I be expecting a phone call?"

Eren glanced at Mikasa. "I…wouldn't leave the phone too far."

"Typical." Grandfather shook his head again as he started the movie.

After a few minutes, Eren leaned over and whispered, "So, did she ever find it."

"What?"

"Annie. Did she ever find whatever it was that she was looking for?"

"Oh. Uh no." Armin glanced over at Mikasa, who was engrossed in the film. "But I did."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Armin awoke to the soft clinking of glasses. At first, his brain didn't register what it was, so he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or not. But he was warm, and he felt something soft on his face, so did it matter? His brain decided it wanted to be awake though, so reluctantly, he opened his eyes. It took several moments of blinking before they actually wanted to see anything though. And when they did, he rather liked what he saw.

Apparently, he'd fallen asleep on Mikasa, who was curled up with her head on the arm of the couch. He'd been warm because his head had come to rest in the crook of her neck, and the soft thing tickling his face had been her hair. He couldn't help but smile softly. Of course, he always thought she was pretty, but there was something almost magical about the way she looked when she was sleeping. Like all of the sorrows and evils of the world hadn't touched her, and she was as innocent as an angel.

But to be fair, he'd had enough sleepovers to know that Eren looked the same way when he slept. Not annoying, or mean, or full of misplaced anger. Just…adorable. He sat up and shook his head. He wasn't supposed to be having these thoughts anymore. But since he was thinking of Eren, he immediately wondered where the other boy was. He didn't have to look far since the brunette was passed out on the floor, having created a sort of nest for himself out of all pillows and blankets that were supposed to be for all three of them. "That selfish jerk." He muttered, shaking his head. But fast asleep, Eren did look rather precious. Armin wondered if that was how everyone looked when they were asleep.

"Armin, you're up early." Armin looked over to see Grandfather cleaning all the dishes and food off of the coffee table. So, he hadn't dreamed the clinking then.

"Let me help you." He whispered, jumping off the couch and helping Grandfather carry the rest of the stuff to the kitchen.

"Thank you, Armin." Grandfather said, as Armin began scraping the food off of the plates into the trash. Grandfather set about loading the dishwasher, and they worked quietly for several minutes. "So, what were you really doing with Miss Annie last night?"

"What? Grandfather, I told you-"

"You told me a lie. And it may have fooled Eren, but I have known you since you were born."

Armin let out a sigh. Clearly, he had been caught, and he might as well come clean. "She…she asked me out."

"Yes, I know that, Armin."

"No. She asked me out…like to be her boyfriend."

Grandfather's eyes grew wide. "Oh. Well, then." He seemed to be processing. "What did you say?"

"I said no, obviously."

"Why is that obvious? You're a very private person."

"I still think if I got a girlfriend, I would at least tell you about it, if not Eren and Mikasa." The irony of the lie he was telling was not lost on him. But he clamped that down.

"Why did you say no?"

"What? Because…I did. I'm not interested."

"Not interested in Annie, or not interested in girls?"

Armin's eyes grew wide as he realized what his grandfather was trying to ask him. But he wanted to see if he could make him say it. "What are you trying to ask me?"

"I have never once heard you express any interest in a girl. And I am not blind. I have seen the way you look at Eren."

"Oh my god, stop talking now." Armin smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand.

"Armin, there is nothing wrong if that is how you feel, and I will still love you. Though, side note, you can definitely do better than Eren."

Armin looked up at the ceiling, praying for patience. "This is not happening right now."

"All you have to do is talk to me."

"To be completely honest, I don't feel comfortable talking about this with you."

"And why is that? Do you think I will abandon you?"

"Maybe I just don't feel like discussing my sexuality at 6:30 in the morning." His voice was still quiet, but even he could hear the annoyance in it.

"Well, when would be a better time to discuss it?" Grandfather crossed his arms.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe when my best friends, who I may or may not be attracted to, aren't sleeping in the next room." He spun around and started walking towards the doorway.

"Wait, Armin. Was that friends as in plural?"

Armin took a deep breath to keep from screaming. "I'm going back to bed." He whispered before climbing up the stairs. He was rather startled when he opened his bedroom door to find Mikasa sitting on his bed. "What are you doing in here?" He asked, quickly shutting the door behind him.

"Going to sleep in your bed."

"But I wanted to sleep in my bed."

"Too bad. I got here first. Although, you do have a full size bed, so I think we'd both fit if you want to share." She grinned.

"Really? With nosy posy one and two downstairs?"

"We have to tell them sometime."

Armin just shook his head. "Terrible idea."

"What? Like lying to your grandfather?"

He let out a sigh. "How much of that conversation did you hear?"

"Enough to know that your grandfather will never abandon you, even if he thinks you're gay." She giggled.

Armin facepalmed again. "I'm not having this conversation with you, either."

"That's okay, since I already know your sexuality."

"Really, well that's good. At least on of us does. Could you tell me, because I have no freaking idea."

"Really? Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No! I literally just got done saying that." He huffed, turning around and putting his hand on the doorknob.

"Where are you going?"

"To go sleep in Grandfather's bed."

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Armin let out a small sigh, spun around and walked over to the bed. Once there, he planted a light kiss on her forehead.

Mikasa looked slightly surprised, but smiled. "That's not what I meant, but thank you."

Armin just blinked several times. "What do you mean?" he finally asked, his tired brain not being able to figure out what she was talking about.

"I meant your clothes. You never changed last night. I mean, look. You still have your shoes on."

Armin looked down, and sure enough, he was still in his tshirt, jeans, and sneakers. "Huh." He said simply. He kicked off his shoes and then shrugged. "I'm not changing in front of you." He said before heading towards the door again.

"Alright, well goodnight…or good morning. I don't really know."

He glanced back once he opened the door and found her already curled up under his blanket. He rested his head against the door frame and smiled softly.

"What?" Mikasa asked, making eye contact with him.

"Nothing. Just enjoying the view." He said. "Sleep well." He rather enjoyed the look of her asleep in his bed. He turned and walked down the hall to his grandfather's room, where he flopped on the bed and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"I still can't believe you two went upstairs and climbed in the beds and left me sleeping on the floor like a jackass." Eren grumbled as they sat at the table eating their lunch.

"What was I supposed to do? Wake you up? No, thank you." Armin replied, munching on his sandwich.

"And why not?"

"Because you're like a bear to wake up, and I didn't feel like getting mauled." Armin grinned.

Eren shook his head slowly. "Yeah, I guess you have a point."

Grandfather walked into the kitchen. "So, what's on the agenda for you kids today? Please tell me it involves you all getting out of my house."

"Actually, we are planning on playing video games." Eren said.

"Of course you are." Grandfather sighed.

"Do you want us to go outside?" Armin asked, looking at Grandfather, who was standing behind Eren.

"It wouldn't kill you."

"It might, actually." Eren said, turning to look at him. "You see, we're indoor cats. We play inside."

Grandfather just stared at the two of them for several moments. "Get out of my kitchen."

"Yes, sir." They both jumped up and headed for the living room. Armin could hear his grandfather mutter something about damn teenagers. He couldn't help but smile. Eren plopped down on the couch as Armin crouched down and turned on the console. Then, he grabbed two controllers and sat next to Eren.

"I get to be player one!" Eren said, grabbing one of the controllers.

"As if! It's my house." Armin replied, hitting the button on his controller so that he would be player one.

"Dammit!" Eren groaned, flopping his head back.

"Why is it so important to be player one?" Mikasa asked, walking into the room.

"BECAUSE, player one gets the top screen which is easier to see, thus increasing my chances of winning."

Mikasa stared at Eren, and blinked. "So, there's no good reason, you're just whining."

"Pretty much." Armin said with a nod.

"What? No! I'm not whining. I'm just trying to get as many advantages as I can to make it fair."

"So, you're whining because Armin is better at video games than you."

"Oh my god! I'm not whining! But yes, this is like the only thing Armin is better at than me."

"That's a lie. There's lots of stuff Armin is better at than you. Math. Science. Making friends. Keeping friends. Not yelling and hitting people when he gets mad, though that might be a subset of keeping friends."

"Shut up, Mikasa." Eren grumbled. "Where have you been anyway? Snooping through Armin's stuff?"

"What's there to snoop through? She's here almost as much as I am." Armin cut in. He turned his head to look at Mikasa, who had settled herself in the armchair. "Is that my sweatshirt?"

Mikasa looked down at the sweatshirt in questions. "Um…"

"Oh, she's a verifiable sweatshirt thief. You're never going to see that one again." Eren said, not taking his eyes off of the screen as they started their game. "At any given time, she has half a dozen of mine. Only way I get them back is if I steal them, or Mom finds them in the wash."

"So, what you're saying is that my sweatshirt, currently being worn by Mikasa, is eventually going to end up being worn by you?"

Eren tilted his head to the side as he considered what Armin said. "Yeah, basically."

"Huh…I'm okay with that."

The boys played their game for hours. They were so absorbed that if she hadn't patted him on the head, Armin probably wouldn't have noticed Mikasa leaving. On a pause for a bathroom break, Armin was finally pulled aside by Grandfather. "Armin, you know I like your friends, right?"  
"Oh no." Armin sighed, knowing something was coming.

"I do. But I tend to like them more when they don't invite themselves over and then don't know when to go home."

"You want me to tell Eren to go home?"

"He's been here for nearly 24 hours. It's time."

Armin let out another sigh. "Ok." He turned and walked back into the living room. "Hey, Eren. It's getting pretty late."

"Yeah, well, we definitely have time to get through this next part-"

"No, Eren. We don't."

"No, no, no. Armin, listen-"

Armin knew he had to take drastic action. He crossed the living room and grabbed Eren by the face, holding his own only inches away. He could feel Eren's breath on his face. "Eren, you're my best friend, and I love you, but you need to GO HOME. Go see your mother. Let her know you're not dead in a ditch somewhere. Or don't. I don't care. Just get out of my house."

Eren stared at Armin, not making any moves to get his face out of Armin's grasp. "What time is it?"

"Like 7."

"Where's Mikasa?"

"She left about 3 hours ago."

"How long have we been playing?"

"About 6 hours."

"Your grandfather wants me to leave?"

"Very much so."

"Can you let go of my face?"

"Yes." Armin said, letting go and taking several steps back.

"Thank you." Eren said, sitting down on the couch to pull on his shoes.

"You're welcome."

Eren got his shoes on and stood up, letting out a sigh. "Do I really have to go home now?"

"YES!" Grandfather called from the hallway. "Get out of my house!"

"I'll come over tomorrow." Armin said, patting Eren on the shoulder as he led him to the front door.

"Alright. See you tomorrow then."

"Bye." Armin waved before closing the door and heading into the kitchen.

"Seriously? You're going over there tomorrow?" Grandfather asked. He was standing at the stove, stirring a pot of soup.

"Yes. What's for dinner?"

"Minestrone. Do you ever NOT spend time together?"

"Every day at school." Armin pulled a couple of bowls down from the cabinet and places them on the table.

"Right. It wouldn't kill you to go a whole day without talking to him, you know."

"I might, so that's just a risk I'm not willing to take." Armin grinned as he grabbed two spoons from the drawer.

"Armin, I'm being serious. You're never going to really experience the world if you keep yourself cooped up in the house with the same two people."

"I can't tell if you're trying to tell me to take those two people outside or bring other people to the house."

"Armin-"

"They're my best friends. They've been my best friends since grade school."

"And I'm not saying to stop being friends with them. Just spend some time with other people. Make some new friends too."

"I have other friends."

Grandfather shut off the stove and brought over the pot, pouring soup into both bowls. "Friends you don't spend time with."

"That's not true. Just this week, I went to a basketball game with Reiner and Bertolt." Armin said, sitting down at the table.

"Yeah, and you complained because Eren wasn't there." Grandfather countered, sitting down across the table.

"I didn't complain. I just…thought it was odd."

"You're wasting your youth pining after someone who's never going to see you as anything other than a brother."

"I know that. I am trying to get over it."

"You should be out there, meeting people."

"How am I supposed to do that? I am awkward and shy. I've never been the first to initiate a friendship in my whole life. I mean, Eren was the one who started talking to me. And Mikasa, well she only came along because she moved in with Eren. Hell, ALL of my friends came through Eren, or other mutual friends who came through Eren."

"Armin, you have blossomed since grade school. You just have to find confidence in yourself. You are a likeable, fun person. You're the only one who doesn't see that."

"Grandfather-"

"Look, I know you said you don't want to talk about it, and I don't know if it's because you're embarrassed, or confused, or-"

"Both. All of the above. Please stop."

"Or whatever." Grandfather continued. "But I am here, Armin. And I'm never going to judge you, or make fun of you, or push you away."

"Oh my god." Armin groaned, banging his head on the table.

"And I know you're not ready to talk about who you're attracted to-"

Armin had to put a stop to this. So, he lifted his head and blurted out the one thing guaranteed to make Grandfather stop talking. "I'm dating Mikasa."

That certainly did the trick. Grandfather stared at him for a long time. Long enough to start to make Armin uncomfortable, and his face began to flush red. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not." Grandfather finally said.

"I'm not. I'm…dating Mikasa. It's why I couldn't go out with Annie, because I'm already seeing someone."

"But you guys don't-I mean, I never would have-"

"Because no one knows. You're the first person outside of us to know, so you can't tell ANYONE."

"Are you saying Eren doesn't know?"

"No, he doesn't."

"Is that a good idea?"

Armin shrugged. "It's not my decision."

"Mikasa doesn't want Eren to know? Why?"

"I don't know." He shrugged again.

"How long has this been going on?"

"A couple of months."

"Right. So, you know I'm going to need all of the details, correct?"

Armin let out a sigh. "You're worse than a teenage girl. I want you to know that." He huffed before launching into the story.

/so, the actual story of how Armin and Mikasa got together will be in the next chapter, because I'm mean like that XD. So you'll just have to read next chapter to find out what happened


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"You need to stop moping over Eren." Mikasa proclaimed, sitting on Armin's stomach. He had been lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the Jaegers' basement. He'd had a fight with Eren, and the other boy had stormed off.

"Ow! Get off! You're crushing me!"

"Not until you stop moping over Eren. He's not worth it."

"I'm not! Now, get off." He tried to push her, but barely made her sway.

"I think you are."

"And I think you're slowly asphyxiating me by squishing all of my organs, putting undue pressure on my diaphragm and lungs."

She stared down at him with one eyebrow raised. "Really?" she scoffed. "THAT'S the best you could come up with?"

"Shut up. My brain is being slowly starved of oxygen."

Mikasa rolled her eyes, but relented, and slid onto the floor next to him. "Sit up." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into a sitting position. They were close enough their noses were almost touching.

"Hi." Armin said.

"Hi." She replied.

They both turned as they heard footsteps on the stairs and Mrs. Jaeger appeared. "Eren's not down here?"

"Uh…no." Armin said.

"He went out somewhere." Mikasa explained.

"He LEFT?! After I told him he was grounded? Oh, he is in for a whole world of trouble now. Where did he go?"

"I don't know." Armin said. Mikasa just shrugged.

"Seriously? Neither one of you knows where he is?" Mrs. Jaeger crossed her arms.

"Does it look like we know where he is? We've been down here." Mikasa snapped. Armin's eyes widened. He'd never heard Mikasa talk to Mrs. Jaeger this way.

"Don't start with the attitude, young lady." Mrs. J snapped back. "Armin, do you know where my son is?"

"No. I've been lying on the floor." Armin felt very uncomfortable. He didn't like being in the middle of a family argument.

"Ugh!" Mrs. J flung her hands up in the air. "What is the point of you two then?"

Armin and Mikasa exchanged looks, processing what had just been insinuated. "Did you just say the only reason point in having Armin and I around is to watch your temperamental son?" Mikasa asked, climbing to her feet. She was still holding Armin's hand and pulled him to his feet as well.

"What? No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did! Is that really all you think of us? As free babysitters for Eren?"

"No! Mikasa, you're putting words in my mouth!"

"Come on, Armin." Mikasa pulled Armin along behind her, past Mrs. J and up the stairs. Armin just put his head down as he went.

"Mikasa. Mikasa! Armin!"

Mikasa led Armin up to her bedroom and slammed the door. "Unbelievable! Can you believe her?"

"Um, I am very uncomfortable." Armin answered, looking up at Mikasa's face.

"I can tell." She said, letting go of his hand.

"I've never seen you fight with her before." He said, walking over and plopping down in Mikasa's bean bag chair.

"It's been happening recently. She's been getting ridiculous." She plunked down in her desk chair.

"Ridiculous how?"

"Like, Eren's been pretty bad this summer, and just like downstairs, she just expects me to always keep track of him and keep him in line. I'm not his mother. I'm not really his sister. It's not my job to keep him from every ounce of trouble he gets himself into."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not you doing it."

"I know, but still." He shrugged.

Mikasa let out a sigh. "I'm just…I'm starting to feel like my whole life revolves around Eren. Like, I do whatever it is Eren wants to do, and I hang out with whoever Eren wants to hang out with. I never get to make the decisions."

Armin sat up straight and stared up at her. Mikasa had just put into words something he had been feeling for awhile now. "And he acts like you're the bad guy when you don't want to do something."

"Yes! Sometimes, it just feels like it's not even my life, just an accessory to Eren's."

"Makes the other feelings much worse." Armin said, dropping his head.

"Much worse." Armin's head shot up. Was Mikasa admitting what she thought he was? "Like, I just wonder if I genuinely feel that way about him, or if it's some side effect of his savior complex."

Armin stared at her. "Or if it's because I never get out and meet other people, so I've settled for what I know."

"Or if it's because I know he'll never feel the same way, so I never have to act on my feelings."

"Or if it's somehow horribly all of the above." Armin sighed.

"It probably is." They sat in silence for a few minutes before Mikasa stood up suddenly. "This is ridiculous!"

Armin jumped, not expecting her sudden movement or loud voice. He put a hand over his heart to try and regain a normal breathing pattern. "What? What are you doing?"

Mikasa crossed the room to her bedside table and pulled out a pocket knife. "We're making a pact."

"Look, I realize I'm probably borderline depressed, but I'm not ready for a suicide pact."

"Shut up." She said, striding across the room and plunking down on the carpet next to him. "Give me your hand."

"What? No." He pulled both hands into his chest. "Not until you explain just what in the hell you're doing."

"We are making a pact to live our lives for ourselves, not Eren."

"Right. Probably could have asked."

"AND to get over that stupid boy romantically. He's not worth it."

"Okay, still not understanding the knife-" just then, Mikasa opened the knife and pricked her thumb with it, watching a spot of blood bead up. "Oh my god, you're making a blood pact."

"Give me your hand."

"This is how people get AIDS, Mikasa."

"Armin."

"This is what Grandfather meant when he gave me that talk on peer pressure. I always thought it would relate to booze though."

"Are you going to give me your hand or not?"

Armin let out a groan. "I can't believe I'm doing this." Slowly, he started reaching out his hand towards her. She grabbed it and yanked it over to her, then quickly pricked his thumb and pressed her's to it.

"Do you promise to keep to the pact to the best of your abilities?"

"Um, yes."

"Then, repeat what the pact is."

"That the universe doesn't revolve around Eren and, I'm paraphrasing here, fuck him."

"Really?" She asked as she closed the knife.

"Obviously metaphorically, since the whole point of the pact is for us to stop fantasizing about physically fu-"

"Armin!" Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm still holding a knife."

"Right. Sorry. To live our lives for ourselves and get over Eren."

"Good." She set the knife on the floor.

Armin stared down at his thumb. It was smeared with blood, not all of it his. "This is seriously how HIV gets transmitted, you know. You don't have any blood borne communicable diseases, do you? No ebola or anything?"

"Armin."

"Look, it's just that I have things I want to do with my life-" Mikasa rose up onto her knees and pressed her lips to his. "Oh." He said, pulling back slightly. "What are you doing?"

"Living my life for me."

"Right. Um-"

"Armin?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

She cupped his face in her hands and leaned in. She lost her balance and began to fall. Armin's arms immediately closed around her waist, and pulled her close. Mikasa ended up half lying on him. Armin couldn't say he minded. He'd never thought of her in this way before, but now that he was, it seemed rather obvious to him.

Their faces were inches apart. Slowly, Mikasa leaned forward and kissed him again. A real kiss this time. Slowly, one of Armin's hands slid up her back and into her hair. His other hand could feel the tiniest bit of skin where her shirt had ridden up. He was just considering whether or not he should push it up and feel more skin when they were interrupted by screaming downstairs.

"And just where the hell were you?"

Mikasa jumped, and probably would have rolled right off of him onto the floor had he not tightened his grip around her waist. They didn't say a word, just exchanged a look before both scrambling to their feet and racing to the door. They weren't going to miss an opportunity to watch Eren get yelled at. As luck would have it, Eren had decided to go to his room, and Mrs. Jaeger was in hot pursuit, so all they had to do was peek their heads out the door.

"I am speaking to you, young man!"

"I went out, jeesh! Is that a crime now?"

"It is when you're grounded!"

"Well, I had to get out of here!" He stopped outside of Mikasa's room and made a face at Eren. "What are YOU still doing here?"

"You're not his only friend that lives here, you ass." Mikasa cut in. "Just because you had a fight with him doesn't mean he's banned from the house."

"Shut up, Mikasa!"

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

"KIDS!" Mrs. Jaeger butted in. "That is enough! Eren, I am not done speaking with you."

"I'm done speaking with you." Eren said, marching into his room and slamming the door.

"Unbelievable. Mikasa-" she turned to look at her daughter, but Mikasa pulled Armin back into the room and slammed the door too.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Grandfather just stared at Armin for several minutes after Armin finished speaking. Finally, he spoke up. "I have so many questions."

Armin let out a sigh. "Oh boy."

"First of all, WHY did you think all of those details were necessary?"

"You said to give you all of the details!"

"Clearly, I am going to have to teach you what that means. It is NOT details about you making out with your girlfriend." Armin just flushed red and took a spoonful of soup. "Anyway, when was this."

"July."

"Right, and so that's it? You two have been-"

"Well, sort of. At first, she never brought it up, and I figured we were operating under some sort of guise that it never happened."

"Uh huh."

"Until it happened again. Right before school started. And then it just sort of…kept happening."

Grandfather nodded his head. "So, you've been with Mikasa, in a romantic sense, since at minimum August?"

"In a nutshell, yes."

"And it's now the end of October, and I'm the FIRST person you're telling?"

"That is also correct." Armin was unsure of where the conversation was heading.

"And you've also stated that it was Mikasa's decision not to tell anyone."

"So that it doesn't get back to Eren. Why do I feel like I'm on a witness stand?"

"I'm just trying to figure out why she's so determined for Eren not to know. Also, side note, Eren is not worth it and I'm glad you're making an effort to move on."

"I'm ignoring your side note, and I really don't know. I mean, he's going to react badly. He doesn't like when the status quo changes and this is essentially putting it on it's head." He shrugged his shoulders and resumed his soup eating.

"Don't you think it's going to be worse when it eventually comes out, because it WILL come out, and he finds out his two best friends have been lying to him for months?"

"You are not bringing up anything that I haven't already brought up with Mikasa. She says she'll bring it up when the time is right, which I assume will either be when we have broken up or gotten married."

Grandfather shook his head. "You have a very interesting outlook on the future, Armin."

"I'm just being realistic. Once you're in a relationship, there's only two things that could happen. Either, it ends, or it doesn't." he shrugged.

"Would you stop with shrugging?"

"Probably not. All you've done now is make me self-conscious about it." He replied.

"Uh huh. You're a weird kid."

"I think that reflects on you. You've been my parental role model for the last ten years."

"No. I distinctly remember you were weird long before you came to live here." Grandfather grinned.

"I have no recollection of such a time."

"Likely story." Grandfather rolled his eyes. "Finish your soup."

"You finish your soup."

"Very mature."

"I get it from you." Armin grinned.

"No, you definitely get that from your father."

Armin looked up at his grandfather. He never talked about Armin's dad. His mom, sure, but never his dad. Armin was always afraid to ask why. But before he could say anything, the silence was broken by Armin's phone ringing. "Sorry." He said, fishing it out of his pocket.

"Who is calling you at 8 o'clock on a Saturday night?"

"Why don't you let me answer it and find out?" he pressed the answer button. "Hello?"

"Armin."

"Yes, Mikasa?"

"I'm just calling to tell you that I'm on my way over to your house."

"Right."

"I'll be there in five minutes."

"Okay."

"See you then."

"Bye." He heard the click of Mikasa hanging up and put the phone back in his pocket.

"Just because she's your girlfriend now doesn't mean she can be calling you at all times of the night."

"It's not as late as you seem to think it is. And she's on her way over." Armin said, rising to his feet.

"She's what? Why?" Armin just shrugged as he moved down the hall and opened the front door. "Why didn't you ask?" Grandfather followed him as far as the doorway to the kitchen.

Armin turned around. "She's very succinct on the phone. There wasn't time."

"Armin-"

Armin turned and went out the storm door onto the porch. He was only out there a moment when Mikasa strode into view. "Back so soon?" He grinned.

"So it would seem." She replied as she walked up onto the porch. Armin held open the storm door for her to walk into the house.

"Mikasa, dear. I think you're confusing this house with the one you live in. It's about four blocks down the street." Grandfather had his arms crossed.

"Grandfather-"

"She was just here four hours ago. Why is she back? We were having a nice bonding moment."

"She's standing right in front of you, so maybe stop talking about her like she's not here. And why don't you let me talk to her and find out." Armin took Mikasa's hand and started leading her towards the stairs.

"Uh, no. Downstairs."

"Grandfather-"

"No buts. Downstairs."

Mikasa looked at Armin. "Why is he-"

"He knows."

Her eyes widened. "He KNOWS?'

"He knows." Armin confirmed.

"How does he know?"

"I told him."

"Armin!"

"He's not going to tell! Though I'm regretting telling him since he's going to act like a doofus, apparently." He looked pointedly at Grandfather.

"Armin-" Grandfather began.

"It's not like we're going up there to make out! She's clearly upset and needs to talk." Armin turned and began leading Mikasa up to his room again.

"Unbelievable." Grandfather muttered.

Armin reached his room and closed the door behind them. "So, what happened?" Mikasa shrugged her shoulders. "Well, it must be bad if you're over here."

Mikasa walked over to Armin's bookshelf, where he had all sorts of knick knacks in addition to all of his books. She very lightly ran her fingers over a little ceramic turtle. Finally, she looked up at Armin. "Why does your grandfather know?"

It was Armin's turn to shrug his shoulders. "I don't know. We were talking and-"

"So, it was a continuation of your conversation from this morning?"

"No. Well, sort of. He just kept asking questions and saying stuff and it just sort of came out."

"He thinks you're gay, doesn't he?"

Armin let out a sigh. "Yes. But that's not-I mean-there's nothing wrong with it, I'm just…not…I think." He could feel his face flush red.

"Oh, baby, no." Mikasa walked over and patted Armin on the cheek. "You are adorably bisexual, Armin."

"Right, this is not what you came over here to talk about." He blushed even more.

That made Mikasa smile. "Who said I came over here to talk about anything?"

"Common sense."

Mikasa sighed and her smile slipped from her face. She walked over and sat on the bed. "Everything sucks at home."

"Still?" Armin asked, sitting down beside her.

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"Eren. He was acting up when he got home. Mouthing off. Well, it got him in trouble, which made him mad, so he picked a fight with me." She sighed again. Armin took her hand and twined his fingers through her's. "Somehow, that ends with ME getting in trouble, because I'm held to a higher standard than Eren. So, I got angry, and I yelled. And then I left. And now I'm here."

Armin was quiet for a little while. "Do you want to stay here tonight?"

Mikasa looked at his face. "Could I? Your grandfather won't mind?"

Armin gave her a soft smile. "He's never really annoyed with you." She just looked so sad, so he wrapped her in a hug. "It's going to be okay."

"I hope so." She whispered, hugging him back.

Armin felt peaceful. He was warm and he felt this sense of security. He cracked his eyes open to find Mikasa asleep in his bed next to him. That was why he felt happy. This was just…right. He reached over and gently stroked some hair back from her face, a smile on his lips. She stirred and he was about to pull his hand back when she opened those big brown eyes of her's and smiled. "Good morning."

"Good morning. It's early. We can go back to sleep." He said softly.

"Okay." Mikasa said, before rolling over and resting her head on his chest. Armin smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. He had just closed his eyes when he heard his bedroom door open.

"Armin-oh geez, you're in the bed…together."

Armin sighed heavily, and he could feel Mikasa laughing, though she had her face buried in his chest to keep anyone from hearing. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" He opened his eyes.

"Please tell me she's dressed." Grandfather said.

If there had been something he could bang his head on in that moment, he would have. "Seriously?"

Mikasa sat up, and couldn't hide her laughter. "Yes, I'm dressed."

"Good. Small blessings."

"What do you want?" Armin asked, sitting up and looking at his grandfather. "It's 7:30 on a Sunday morning."

"Oh right, I need to talk to you."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

Armin huffed. "Fine. I'll be down in a couple of minutes."

"Okay." Grandfather started to leave but paused. "Armin, please tell me that you're fully clothed."

"Get out!" Armin seized his pillow and chucked it at his grandfather.

"I'm going!" Grandfather exclaimed, disappearing seconds before the pillow sailed through the air where his head had been.

Armin flopped down on his back and groaned. "Sometimes I hate that man."

"No, you don't." Mikasa giggled, leaning down and giving him a peck on the lips. "You should go see what he wants."

"Or I could stay here with you." Armin said, wrapping his arms around her waist and hugging her close.

"I have a feeling it's me he wants to talk about." She said, giving him another kiss before pulling back.

Armin let out another groan before sitting up. "Alright. I'll be right back. You should go back to sleep." He climbed out of the bed. "I envy you your choices, you know?" He walked around the bed and kissed her on the top of the head.

"I know you do." She smiled before lying back down.

He turned and walked downstairs into the kitchen. "I think you're trying to sabotage my life." He said, plunking down at the table.

"Armin, you know I love Mikasa, right?"

"Oh God." Armin groaned, hanging his head.

"Now, listen. I'm being very serious right now."

"I know you are." Armin sighed, lifting his head to look at his grandfather.

"I do love her, but I'm not her guardian. And as a fellow parent, I can't contradict what her parents say. You follow me?"

"I am, though I'm not sure where you're going."

"She can't just come sleep here every time she has a fight with them."

"This is what you got me up this early for?" Armin stared at him tiredly.

"Armin."

"No, seriously. This couldn't have waited a couple of hours?"

Grandfather crossed his arms and frowned. "You're normally up this early."

"I was with my girlfriend!"

"Well, excuse me for not realizing your entire routine would change would immediately change after getting a girlfriend!" Armin slammed his hands down on the table as he stood up. "This is ridiculous! You know Mikasa! She's been coming over here for six years! How can you possibly think that was her motive?"

"I feel like I don't know either one of you anymore! You don't lie!"

"Yes, we do! We lie all the time! We don't like when people worry about us, so we lie! We've been doing it for years, so we're very good at it!"

Grandfather's jaw dropped open. "You don't lie to me!"

"And I didn't lie to you, did I?"

Grandfather's face grew angry. "Oh really? Because I have this memory of you saying 'If I had a girlfriend, I would tell you.' And when was this? Oh, yesterday!"  
"And I did tell you! YESTERDAY!"

"Not until you were backed into a corner!"

"I wasn't backed into a corner! And anyway, the whole premise for this conversation is stupid! Mikasa had a fight with her family. A pretty big fight, and she needed somewhere to cool down. So, she came here. If it was me, wouldn't you prefer I go somewhere you know, with people you trust, instead of disappearing God knows where?"

"Armin, that's not my point."

"It was a one-time thing." Armin turned to see Mikasa standing in the doorway. "I just really needed to get away from them, and talk to Armin."

"I understand that, Mikasa. I am just trying to say that it can't happen every time because your parents might stop letting you over here at all. That's what I would do."

"Good thing I don't take off when we fight." Armin said softly.

"We don't fight. We have mild disagreements."

"Oh, is that what that shouting match was?" Mikasa asked, with a hint of a smirk on her lips.

"What shouting match? That was a conversation held at high volume, is all." There was a slight smile on Grandfather's face as well. "Alright. I feel like my point has been made, so I'm going to make breakfast now, since we're all up anyway."

"Do you want any help?" Mikasa asked.

"You know, I think I want some alone time right now, so how about you two just do the dishes after?"

"Okay." Mikasa said, turning and leaving the room.

Armin started to follow when Grandfather called out to him. "Armin, come here a second."

"Oh God, what now?"

"Just come over here." Armin obliged, trudging over to stand next to Grandfather at the stove, who dropped his voice to a whisper. "If these sleepovers are going to keep happening, and you find yourself needing something, let me know." Armin made a face and Grandfather cut him off before he could say anything. "Protection and safety are not things to shrug off. Blood pacts aren't the only way diseases spread."

"Oh my god! I'm seriously moving out so I never have to tell you anything again." Armin groaned.

"So what, you move out and that's it? Nine years of raising you and it's just sayonara? I'm out with the wolves?"

"If that's what it takes to avoid having conversations like this one." Armin said, walking out of the kitchen and down the hall to the living room.

Mikasa was settled on the couch and looked up as he came in. "What was that about?"

"Nothing. Something stupid." Armin shrugged before sitting down next to her. He rested his head on her shoulder as she twined their hands together.

"Now I really want to know."

"Now I'm really not going to tell you."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"You bastard." Armin said, banging his books down on Reiner's desk.

Reiner jumped, as he hadn't seen Armin come in. "What did I do?"

"You know what you did." The smaller blond hissed.

"Oh, he's pissed. What did you do, Reiner?" Ymir asked, leaning forward in her seat behind Reiner.

"I don't know what I did! That's what I'm trying to figure out." Reiner turned halfway around to look at her.

"Just think back and it'll come to you." Armin seized his stuff off of the desk and moved over to his own desk. He paused there for a moment and then moved over one more desk to the one Mikasa usually sat in.

"Oh shit, Reiner! He's not even going to sit next to you." Ymir laughed.

"Come on, Armin! Don't be like this!" Reiner pleaded.

Mikasa walked into the room and without a word sat down in Armin's regular seat. "Reiner, please tell me you're not going to be trying to talk around me the entire class." Reiner just stared at her while behind him, Ymir cackled.

"Mikasa, ask him what I did." Reiner said.

Mikasa slowly turned her head and stared at Reiner with that uncanny look she had that made people uncomfortable. Reiner was clearly no exception as Armin snuck a glance at him. Good. "If you think back to last Tuesday, I'm sure you'll recall what it is that you did."

"Oh my god!" Armin turned to look at Ymir, who looked absolutely delighted. "I know what he's so pissed about. And if he's pissed, it clearly didn't go well." She buried her head in her arms, she was laughing so hard.

"I'm glad you find this so amusing, Ymir." Reiner huffed, looking at her.

"She's the only one." Armin said as their chemistry teacher stood up from her desk.

"Alright, class. We're continuing with stoichiometry today, so get your notebooks out." There was a collective groan from the classroom. Stoichiometry was not a subject enjoyed by most of the 10th grade students taking chemistry. Armin wasn't exactly a fan of it himself, but he understood it. With enough practice, he was sure it would become second nature. He really liked chemistry. Well, he liked science in general, and school as a whole. He was so immersed in the lesson that he barely noticed as he filled 6 pages in his notebook and 55 minutes had gone by, so he was startled when the bell rang. He quickly collected his things and tried to make it out of there before Reiner tried to talk to him, but he wasn't quick enough. "Armin, wait up."

"I don't want to." He walked out of the classroom, heading for 3rd period. Mikasa slipped between Armin and Reiner. "I have to go to trig."

"Look, I can explain." Reiner reached towards Armin, and Mikasa lashed out like lightening, seizing Reiner's arm in an iron grip.

"Keep your hands off him." She said quietly.

"Ow! Sheesh!" Reiner jerked his arm back out of her grasp. "What do you even know anyway?"

"I watched Annie not know what no means, and then push Armin to the ground when she was discovered."

"That seems harsh."

"Not to mention watching her maul his face. I'm no expert, but that could not have been enjoyable for anyone. It was bad."

Armin faked a cough to hide a laugh. "I'm still traumatized." He said, his hand over his mouth to hide his smile. What Mikasa was saying WAS a little harsh, but it was kind of cute watching her be possessive. She certainly wasn't hiding what she felt about the situation. Armin came to a stop outside of his next classroom, where Bertolt was standing. "Your husband's a jerk."

"Oh no. Did his terrible plan go awry?" Bertolt smirked.

"I'm glad everyone finds this SO funny." Reiner grumbled.

"I don't find it funny." Mikasa said. "I'm going to class now."

"Alright, tell Eren I say hi. See you at lunch." Armin smiled at her.

"Yeah, see you in gym." Bertolt gave Mikasa a wave as she walked away. "So, you're mad at Reiner, huh?" he asked Armin.

"Part of me feels like I should be mad at you too, and yet I'm not." Armin replied.

"This is so unfair." Reiner groaned.

"Don't you have a class to go to?" Armin snapped. He didn't even know why he was so annoyed at Reiner, to be honest, but he couldn't seem to control it.

"Oh damn. Your plan really backfired, Rei." Bertolt laughed before throwing an arm around Armin's shoulders. "Come on, Armin. You don't have to look at him anymore…at least until lunch." As Bertolt maneuvered him into the classroom, Armin was hit by the realization that he would have to see Annie at lunch. They sat at the same table. What would she say to him? Would she say anything? Should HE say something? Pretend it never happened?

These thoughts consumed him through trig, economics, and oceanography. Finally, it was sixth period, lunch. As always, he was the first to arrive at the table. This came from a combination of his oceanography class being near the cafeteria and the fact that he packed his lunch so he didn't have to go through the lunchline.

He sat down and pulled off his backpack. He felt a stab of anxiety through his heart when he looked up and saw the next person coming to the table was Annie herself. Armin felt the blood leave his face. She sat down on the opposite side of the table, down on the other end. Basically, as far as she could get from him while still being at the same table. Armin didn't know what he should do. She didn't seem to want to talk, but she was never very talkative. He could feel the awkward tension between them and suddenly felt a desperate need to break it.

He had just opened his mouth to say something when Reiner, Bertolt, and Ymir all walked up to the table with their lunch trays. "Damn, Annie, you completely disappeared after history. Any particular reason?" Ymir smirked, sitting down next to Armin on his left side. Armin wanted to bang his head on the table. Was Ymir going to be like this the whole period?

"Oh, shut up, Ymir." Reiner snapped as he and Bertolt sat down next to Annie.

"Someone's touchy. Is it because your boyfriend's mad at you, and your husband is not the least bit sympathetic?"

That made Annie look up, as she had been ignoring Ymir up to that point. She looked between the other four at the table. "What do you mean-"

"Wait, Mikasa's not here yet?" Eren exclaimed, pushing himself between Ymir and Armin, which basically just meant Armin got shoved.

Annie scowled and Ymir just shook her head. "Jaeger, your timing is as impeccable as ever."

"Don't push Armin." Mikasa's voice came from behind them and Armin turned in time to see her slap Eren in the back of the head. "And I was right behind you."

"Ow! What the hell, Mikasa?" Eren exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head as Mikasa sat down on Armin's right side, putting Armin in the middle.

"We both were!" Historia added, sitting down on Ymir's left side.

"Historia!" Ymir exclaimed happily, wrapping her arms around the much smaller girl. "It's been too long!"

"It's been an hour."

"That's far too long."

Armin saw Eren roll his eyes. "Gross."

Ymir turned to look at him. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, besides annoying me?"

"Yeah, this isn't even your lunch period." Annie chimed in.

"Aren't you supposed to be in music?" Ymir continued. "I'm sure Connie will miss you."

"I have six periods with Connie a day. I think he'll live." Eren groaned.

"I don't know. Connie's pretty fragile. Just ask Reiner." Ymir grinned.

"Does your mother know you're skipping class all the time?" Bertolt asked.

"Shut up. It's not all the time! And why is everyone ganging up on me?" Eren snapped back.

"You're in this lunch at least twice a week." Armin said.

"Armin! You're supposed to be on my side!" Eren looked personally offended.

Armin just shrugged his shoulders. "There are no sides when it comes to the truth."

"Speaking of the truth, Eren, do you know why Armin would say he was seeing someone?" Annie asked.

Armin thought his jaw might hit the floor. Why would she do that to him? Just go for the jugular like that. Was she really that pissed at him? Looking around the table, everyone else was in various stages of shock. Ymir was the first one to break the silence when she started laughing. "Ymir, stop it!" Historia scolded.

"Well, he was obviously lying." Eren stated. "I mean, even if Armin could keep a relationship a secret from all of us, I can't think of a single person who would want to date him."

Armin dropped his head to the table with a bang. "I hate my life."

"I can think of a couple of people who would beg to differ with your opinion, Eren. Reiner replied.

"What? Who?" Eren demanded.

"Well, Jean, for one." Ymir cackled.

"You stay out of this." Historia chided.

"Wait, what about Jean?" Eren asked.

Armin wanted to sink into the floor, just disappear forever. "Why are you so interested anyway, Annie? How did this come up in conversation?" Mikasa asked.

Armin slowly turned his head to look up at her. "Et tu, Brute?" he whispered.

This apparently was too much for Ymir, who doubled over laughing, leaning on Historia. As Armin turned to look at her, he noticed Annie's face had a bit of a flush to it. He wanted to be happy that this conversation had backfired on her, but really, it just meant that there were two of them embarrassed and uncomfortable. "Yeah, that's a good question. I can't see Armin bringing it up in conversation." Eren chimed in.

It seemed like Annie was trapped until Reiner spoke up. "That's my fault." Everyone's faces snapped to look at him.

"Oh really?" Bertolt asked, mock surprise on his face. "How's that?"

"I brought it up. I was nagging Armin about going on a double date." Annie looked relieved while Armin banged his head on the table again.

"Stop doing that. You're going to get brain damage." Mikasa whispered, squeezing his leg under the table.

"I want brain damage." He whispered back.

"Double date? Who are you dating?" Eren's face was crinkled in confusion.

"Connie, obviously." Reiner said without missing a beat. Annie spit out the sip of water she'd just taken, and Bertolt began to have a coughing fit. Reiner had to pound him on the back.

"Sorry. Went down the wrong pipe." Bertolt squeaked out.

Eren slowly looked at each one of them. "I hate all of you."

"Then why do you keep sitting with us?" Annie asked, wiping her mouth. "Actually, why do you keep coming to this lunch?"

"Because Mikasa and Armin are in this lunch." Eren replied simply.

"Let's say Mikasa wasn't in this lunch. Would you keep showing up here?" Ymir asked, clearly recovered from her giggle fit.

"Why are you asking that?"

"I'm just trying to figure out who your devotion is for. My bet's on Mikasa."

"What? How?" Eren blustered, clearly unsure how to respond.

"Oh, don't look so surprised. Everyone has the same opinion. I bet even Armin does. We all see how you treat him compared to her."

"Do you mean marginally better?" Annie added.

"And what do you mean by that?" Eren demanded, his face growing red as his anger rose.

Armin was desperately making a slashing motion across his throat, trying to get the girls to stop before they really set Eren off. Historia seemed to be the only one to catch on. "Hey, Armin! It's almost your birthday. Do you have any special plans for your sweet sixteen?"

Armin could have kissed her right then. "Yeah! Actually," he seized his backpack and started digging through it. "My grandfather said I could have a party, so I have these-" he pulled out a stack of envelopes, "for all of you." He quickly stood up and passed an addressed one to everyone at the table. He hesitated slightly before extending one to Annie, who seemed to hesitate before taking it.

"A party? That's so much fun! Of course we'll be there." Historia grinned.

"I guess I don't have a choice." Ymir added.

"No, you don't."

Armin found his gaze settling on Annie, who was staring intently as her invitation. "Of course, I know I only gave everyone a week's notice, so if anyone has other plans already, I'll totally understand." He figured he'd give the poor girl an out, if she wanted it.

Instead, she looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "I'll be there."

"Are presents required?" Eren asked.

"They are for you." Mikasa replied.

"What? Why me?"

"If you don't know that, you're a bigger idiot than I thought." Ymir sniggered.

Before Eren could respond, Armin spoke up. "You're in a very antagonizing mood today, aren't you?"

"What can I say?" Ymir shrugged. "It's my nature. Stirring the shit pot is so much fun."

"You're terrible." Historia shook her head.

"Oh no! Tell me you'll still marry me!" Ymir exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the blonde. The rest of the period went by uneventfully. It wasn't until he was about to walk into the locker room for gym that Annie caught up to him.

She grabbed him arm, startling him. "Oh! What's up?" he glanced behind her to see Ymir and Historia disappear into the girls' locker room.

"I just wanted to thank you for the invitation."

"Oh yeah, of course. We're still friends, aren't we?"

Annie leaned in closer and dropped her voice. "I also wanted to tell you that I'm going to figure out who it is that you're secretly dating." She poked him in the chest. Armin felt his face pale. Just like that, she turned and walked into her locker room.

"Hey! What was that about?" Armin turned to see Jean walking up, hands in his pockets.

"Nothing. Armin shrugged. "Don't worry about it."


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Armin couldn't believe how quickly the week went by, and suddenly it was Saturday. His birthday. Grandfather woke him up with breakfast in bed. "Awwwe, you didn't have to, Grandfather." Armin beamed, looking at the pancakes shaped like the number 16.

"It's a tradition. I've done it every birthday for the past 10 years now." Grandfather ruffled Armin's hair. "Now eat up. Your friends are going to be here in T-minus 5 and a half hours, and we have some serious decorating to do." Armin just shook his head and dug into his breakfast.

Two hours later, Armin was standing on a ladder hanging up streamers when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" He called, hopping down and moving to open the door. "Good morning, Mikasa!" He grinned, stepping aside to let her in the house. "Where's Eren? Don't tell me he's still asleep." He said, closing the door behind her and checking his watch.

"No, he's awake. He's on his way to the mall."

Armin stared at her. "He forgot a present, didn't he?" he asked, a smile spreading across his face.

"Yes, he did."

Armin shook his head. "Typical Eren. Here, let me get your coat."

Mikasa pulled a small wrapped package out of her pocket before taking her coat off. "Happy Birthday, Armin!" she said, holding it out to him.

"Thank you, Mikasa." He said, leaning closer and kissing her softly.

Of course, the moment was ruined by the appearance of Grandfather. "Oh, Mikasa's here. Well, I'm putting you to work, young lady."

Mikasa took a step back and smiled. "I didn't expect anything else." Armin took the present and coat out of her hands before she followed Grandfather back to the kitchen. He quickly hung her coat up in the hall closet and put her present on the coffee table before returning to his streamers. Another hour passed before there was a knock on the door. Armin folded up the ladder and headed towards the door.

"Is that Eren?" Grandfather called from the kitchen.

"Presumably! I don't know who else would show up two hours early." He called back before opening the door. "Hey, Eren."

Eren smiled at him. "Hey, Armin." He turned and waved to a car parked on the curb.

Armin raised his own hand as the car window rolled down. "Hi, Mrs. Jaeger!"

"Happy birthday, Armin! I hope you have a fun party!" She called back from the car.

He smiled brightly at her. "Thank you!"

"And Eren has a present from Mr. Jaeger and me!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Jaeger. Say thank you to Mr. Jaeger for me!"

"I will! You kids have fun! Eren, I expect you home at some point tomorrow. You don't live at Armin's!"

"Yes, Mom. Bye Mom!" Eren huffed.

"Bye, Mrs. Jaeger." Armin waved. She rolled up the window and drove off. "She's driving in the opposite direction of your house."

"Yeah, she said she's having some Mommy time, which I assume means she's going to the salon or something." Eren shrugged as Armin stepped aside to let him in the house.

"I'll take these." Armin said, taking the presents from Eren. "Your coat can go in the closet."

"What about shoes?" Eren asked as he shrugged off his jacket.

"Haven't figured that out yet." Armin placed the presents on the coffee table next to Mikasa's. "Grandfather, where are we putting shoes?"

"Put them along the wall in the living room! They'll be out of the way, but still accessible."

"Right!"

"And hello, Eren!"

"Hello sir!" Eren called back, kicking off his shows in the designated spot. "I bet Mikasa still has her shoes on."

"100% . Come on, let's go upstairs. If I have to look at another streamer, I'm cancelling this party."

"Then, let's go." The two boys left the living room and took off upstairs.

"Where are you two going? You're not done down here!"

"I'm cleaning up my room!" he called back before leading the way into his bedroom.

"Oh, you actually need to clean up in here." Eren said, looking around.

"Yeah. I left it messy as an excuse to escape upstairs at some point." Armin replied, stooping down to collect some dirty laundry and put it in the hamper.

Eren crossed the room and set about collecting Armin's scattered school things and depositing them into his backpack. "You still don't have a desk in here?"

"I like doing my school work at the table. Easy access to the food." He shrugged as he stashed all of his shoes back in the closet. "And besides, it's not like having a desk in your room has magically increased your homework productivity."

"Did the two of you seriously ditch me downstairs so you could come up here and talk about homework?" Both boys whirled around to see Mikasa standing in the doorway.

"No." Armin said quickly.

"Yes." Eren said with a grin.

"Well, if anyone gets first dibs to slack off, it's me." Mikasa said, flopping onto Armin's bed. "Since I actually showed up on time instead of needing Mommy to take me shopping."

"Actually, I feel like I should get first dibs since I've been working since long before EITHER of you showed up." Armin shooed Mikasa off his bed so that he could make it.

"Yeah, but it's your house." Eren said as he dumped the last of Armin's wash into the hamper.

"It's also my birthday." Armin replied, taking one last look around the room. "Okay, we're done in here. Get out."

"How's the bathroom?" Mikasa asked as they all stepped into the hallway.

"That's fine. Grandfather cleaned it yesterday." Armin said before leading the way back downstairs.

Grandfather was waiting for them at the bottom. "Room clean?"

"Yes."

"Clean to my standards?"

"Yes. And if you're about to tell me to go hang streamers in there, I'm leaving Eren in the kitchen with you."

Grandfather let out a mock gasp. "You're a cruel grandson." He exclaimed, clutching his chest.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll be in the living room." Armin rolled his eyes before brushing past Grandfather and moving back down the hall and into the living room. Mikasa and Eren trailed behind.

"So, what's the plan in here?" Eren asked.

"Well, I'm trying to figure out how to arrange it. Grandfather has six folding chairs, so plus the arm chair, that's seven. Which leaves five people, who could all fit on the couch if we put the small people."

"So, you, Historia, Connie…" Mikasa's voice trailed off as she seemed lost in thought.

"Well, Historia will probably be on Ymir's lap." Eren added. "And then I guess one of us can sit on one of the arms."

"Or Armin could sit on your lap." Mikasa said. Both boys stared at her. Her expression didn't change, but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Armin's gaze flicked between Eren and Mikasa. They both just stared silently at each other. Finally, Eren spoke up. "We can work that out later."

"Wait, are you seriously considering it?" Armin stared at Eren, his mouth slightly agape.

"I said we'll work it out later." Eren repeated.

Armin just shook his head. "Help me push the couch back."

After moving the couch, Mikasa looked at him. "Do you want to move the arm chair?"

"Um, I think it's okay there." Armin ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think of what all still needed to be done. "Okay, I gotta take the ladder downstairs to the basement, and bring the chairs up."

"Give it to me." Eren seized the ladder before Armin could even reach for it. His friends had developed a habit of seeing Armin as weak, and thinking him unable of doing things. He couldn't blame them. When he was little, he HAD been incredibly small and weak.

"I could have got it. It's not like I was the one who brought it upstairs in the first place or anything." He muttered as Eren vanished into the hall with the ladder.

"Just let him go." Mikasa said, coming over to stand beside him. "At least he's doing something."

Armin turned to look at her, a smile on his face. "Come on. Let's go get those chairs before Eren wrecks the basement and Grandfather strangles him."

They finished setting up without incident and after a couple of hours, other guests began to arrive. The first was Marco, which was in character for him. Armin could tell Grandfather liked Marco. Shortly after, Historia arrived with Ymir in tow. As Eren predicted, Ymir plopped down on the couch, with Historia half on her lap, half on the arm of the couch. It took another fifteen minutes for the next guest, Jean, to arrive. Then they started to come rapid fire. Connie, then Sasha. Reiner and Bertolt showed up together. Finally, Annie arrived at the door, seeming out of breath. "Sorry. Got off at the wrong bus stop." She said, stepping inside.

"It's fine. I can take your coat." Armin said.

"Oh, thanks." She shrugged it off and handed it to him.

"And who is this young lady?" Grandfather appeared behind Armin.

"This is Annie. Annie, this is my grandfather."

"Lovely to meet you, Annie." Grandfather said, taking the coat out of Armin's hands and opening up the hall closet. "All your friends are just through that doorway there."

"Where can I put this?" She asked, holding up a present.

"There's a table in there. You'll see all the others." Grandfather answered as he hung up her coat.

"Right. Thanks." Annie nodded her head and went into the living room.

"So, Armin, that's the girl who-"

"No. Shut up. We're not talking about this. Not right now. Not today." Armin cut Grandfather off. "But yes." He added quickly.

"Okay then. I have concerns about how you're going to fit 12 people in your bedroom, if that's still something you're planning."

"I'll manage." Armin said with a shrug. "I'm going into my party now."

"Alright. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. Dinner should be ready in about an hour."

"Right." Armin headed into the living room, trying to decide how he was going to keep them entertained until the food was ready. Upon entering, he noticed how everyone had arranged themselves. Reiner had claimed the arm chair for himself. Bertolt, Annie, Sasha, Connie, Marco, and Eren were all in the folding chairs. So much for sitting on Eren's lap. Ymir and Historia were how he had left them. Mikasa was on the other side of the couch, with Jean sitting next to her on the arm. This left the middle seat open. "Jean, you don't have to sit up there. Take the seat, I can sit on the arm."

"No, you don't. We had a discussion about this. It's your birthday, you get a real seat." Jean replied.

"I told you all that he'd argue." Eren chimed in.

"Just sit down, Armin." Mikasa patted the seat next to her.

As he sat down, Armin wondered if Mikasa had fought for that seat. "Okay, so what-"

"We thought you could open your presents." Historia chirped.

"I wasn't gone that long. How did you all manage to come to so many decisions?" He looked at them all incredulously.

"There actually wasn't much discussion." Marco started.

"Mikasa told us all what was happening and the rest of us were either too scared or too apathetic to argue." Reiner finished.

Armin just turned to look at her. It all made sense now. "So, are you in charge of this party, then?" He asked with a grin on his face.

"Yes." She answered simply.

"I'm okay with that." Armin said with a shrug of the shoulders. "Do you want to pick which present I open first?" He gestured to the pile on the coffee table. Armin had to admit, he was shocked but delighted at the amount of presents he had been given. He wasn't sure he had ever received so many presents for his birthday.

"How about this one?" She grabbed the one nearest to her and handed it to him.

Armin read the card attached. "This one is from Historia and Ymir, which I think means Ymir pitched in money and then had no further dealings with it." He looked over at the two girls sitting next to him.

"You would be correct.' Ymir snapped her fingers and shot him finger guns. That made Armin laugh.

"Open it!" Historia giggled. "I hope you like it."

Armin unwrapped the paper to find a box. He opened that to find a dark grey sweater, neatly folded up. "Thank you, Historia!"

"Happy birthday, Armin!" She smiled, leaning over and hugging him.

"Yeah, happy birthday, kid." Ymir said, punching him lightly on the shoulder after Historia pulled away.

"Thanks, Ymir." He smiled at her.

Mikasa had picked up the wrapping paper and handed it to Jean, who had apparently been put in charge of the garbage. "Give me that, and you take this." Mikasa took the box with the sweater and handed him a present in a bag.

"This one is from Jean." Armin said, reading the card.

"Hang on. That's too nicely wrapped for Jean. Did your mommy wrap it?" Eren asked.

"No!" Jean exclaimed. Everyone looked at him and he looked down at the floor before saying in a soft voice, "The lady at the store did." That had everyone cracking up. Armin felt a pang of sympathy as he watched the other boy's face flush red. He decided to help him out a little bit.

"You know, Eren, the wrapping on your present if awfully similar to the wrapping on the one from your mom." Eren's mouth dropped open as the room erupted in laughter.

"That was a good one. High five." Ymir proclaimed, holding up her hand. Armin gave her a high five.

"Why don't you open the present?" Mikasa asked.

"Leave it to Mikasa to try and get us back on track." Connie smirked. It faded quickly as Mikasa shot him one of her cold looks.

Armin decided it was best to open the present before someone got smacked. He pulled the tissue paper out, which Mikasa promptly took. He reached into the bag and pulled out a book on the ocean, full of illustrations an photographs. "Thank you, Jean!" He said, looking up at Jean and beaming.

Jean leaned around Mikasa and ruffled Armin's hair. "Happy birthday."

Armin settled into opening presents. A fountain pen from Bertolt. A fancy notebook from Marco. A day planner from Sasha. A DND related shirt from Connie. A video game from Eren. A novel from Reiner. A hat and gloves set from the Jaegers. The next present Mikasa gave him, he set off to the side. "What's wrong with that one?" Historia asked, watching him closely.

"Oh, it's from my grandfather. I'll open it later." Armin tried to shrug it off. Grandfather had a habit of giving him really sentimental things, and Armin wasn't trying to cry in front of all of his friends. He focused his attention on Mikasa, who seemed to be deciding if she wanted her own or Annie's present to be opened last. Evidently she decided on her own as she grabbed Annie's present next and handed it to him. "This one's from Annie." He said, before unwrapping it to find a mug inside. "Thanks, Annie."

"Of course. Happy birthday." She smiled at him.

Armin felt Mikasa shift next to him. She didn't seem to like how Annie was looking at him. He decided to cut off that tension. "One more present. I wonder who it could be from." He smirked at Mikasa as he leaned forward and grabbed it. She seemed to settle down as he unwrapped it. "A new watch. Thank you, Mikasa." He gave her a bright smile, which she returned.

Just then, Grandfather walked into the room. "Food is ready in the kitchen if any of you are hungry."

Immediately, everyone's eyes shot to Sasha, who was already standing. "Which way is the kitchen?"

"I'll lead the way." Eren said, standing up. He walked out of the room with Sasha and Connie behind him.

"We'd better get in there if we want any food." Reiner smirked, rising to his feet. Annie, Bertolt, Marco, and Jean all followed him out of the room. Historia climbed to her feet, allowing Ymir to get up. The tiny blonde seemed like she wanted to stay, but her girlfriend pulled her from the room.

Mikasa reached over and pulled the watch out of the box. "Read the back."

Armin took it and flipped it over. Inscribed on the back were the words, 'To a best friend who dreams of the sea. May we journey there together. -M' He looked up at her. "I don't even know what to say."

"Put it on."

Armin quickly took off his old watch and put on the new one. "I should open Grandfather's present." As he reached down for it, he saw Mikasa put his old watch on her wrist. He couldn't help but smile. He unwrapped the present to find a picture frame. Inside it was a photo Armin had never seen before, though he recognized the people in it immediately. Standing in front of this very house was his mother, young and beautiful, and his father, strong and full of life. And there in his father's arms, was tiny Armin himself.

"Oh." Mikasa said softly.

"I took that the last time you three came to visit." Grandfather said.

Armin set the photo down, rose to his feet and hugged Grandfather tightly. "Thank you." He whispered.

"Awwwe." Historia exclaimed from the doorway.

"Alright. Moment's ruined. I'm going to get food now. Come on, Mikasa." Armin said, pulling away. He playfully grabbed Historia by the shoulders and spun her around. "You move it."

Historia just giggled. "You're so cute with your grandfather!"

"Just move it!" he playfully pushed her forward towards the kitchen.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

After a few hours, Reiner and Bertolt headed out. Soon after, Marco also headed home, taking Historia with him since they lived in the same direction. Armin was surprised that Ymir stayed after Historia had left. He herded his remaining friends up into his bedroom and closed the door. It was a tight fit, but they fit in a circle on the floor.

"So, what are we doing?" Jean asked.

Ymir held up an empty soda bottle she had swiped from downstairs. "I say we play some spin the bottle." She grinned, wagging her eyebrows.

"That's a kissing game. We should play truth or dare." Eren countered.

"Why not combine them?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, it mixes up what happens. Whoever spins the bottle gets to pose the question or dare." Connie added.

"Oh, know all about it, do you?" Ymir looked at Connie. "Play it with all your non-existent friends?"

"Shut up" Connie fired back.

"Give me the bottle. I'll spin first." Armin said, holding out his hand.

"Oooh, look at the little man, eager to play." Ymir smirked, handing him the bottle.

Armin looked around the circle for a moment as he held the bottle. Mikasa sat to his right. Next to her was Ymir, then Annie, Sasha, Connie, Jean, and finally Eren to Armin's left. Taking a deep breath, he set the bottle down in the middle of the circle and spun it. As it spun, they all watched it intently. Finally, it came to a stop, pointing at Sasha. Armin looked up at her, as her face flushed red. "Truth or-"

"Truth! Truth." She blurted out.

"Wow, someone thinks we're gonna make her do awful things if she picks dare." Ymir laughed.

"But we ARE." Jean said.

"True."

Armin was wracking his brain for a question. "Okay."

"Please be kind, Armin." Sasha said.

"Now you should definitely be cruel." Connie said.

"Do you have a crush on Connie?" Armin asked.

That shut Connie up as his head snapped to look at Sasha. Her face was almost as red as her hair. "I said be kind."

"There's no kindness or mercy in this game. Armin knows that." Eren said.

"Just answer the question." Mikasa said.

Sasha dropped her head. "Yes." She said softly.

"Wait, yes what?" Connie asked.

"The answer to Armin's question, you idiot." Jean slapped Connie on the back of the head.

"Get your revenge, Sasha. Spin the bottle." Annie encouraged.

Sasha did just that. They all watched it spin around and around, finally coming to a stop at Mikasa. "Truth or dare?" Sasha asked.

Mikasa stared into Sasha's eyes. "Dare."

Everyone's eyes went to Sasha, anxious to see what she made Mikasa do. "Okay. I dare you to go to Armin's grandfather's room and bring back a pair of his underwear." Sasha had an evil grin on her face.

"Wait, Sasha-" Armin started.

"Fine." Mikasa was on her feet before Armin could say anything else. She returned in a moment. "Here." She said, tossing something at Sasha.

Sasha let out a shriek as a pair of Grandfather's boxers landed on her. She recoiled, throwing them off of her as she fell backwards. That made everyone laugh, except Armin, who lunged forward, seized the underwear, and tossed them under his bed. "Alright, from here on out, Grandfather's possessions are off limits."

"Don't ask for things you don't actually want, Sasha." Mikasa said, returning to her seat and spinning the bottle. Armin sort of wished it would land on him. Mikasa was probably the only one who would go easy on him. Instead, it landed on Connie. "Truth or dare?" she asked.

"I'm not sure I want to do either." Connie said.

"Don't be a bitch." Eren said. "Pick one."

Connie groaned. "Fine. Truth."

"Is it true you called the biology teacher mom?"

All eyes turned to Connie. He hadn't been in biology with any of them the year before, but a rumor had come out that Connie had called the male teacher Mom. Connie had never confirmed or denied it. His face turned red. "Yes, I did. It just sort of came out." The room erupted with laughter. "Alright, laugh it up. One of you's gonna pay." He seized the bottle and spun it. The thing came to a stop at Annie. "Truth or dare, Annie?"

"Dare." Annie said without hesitation.

A wicked grin spread across Connie's face. "I dare you to pull up your shirt and show up your bra."

Annie shrugged her shoulders. "Fine."

Armin felt his face flush red and he stared down at the floor as she grabbed the bottom of her shirt. "Look at Armin, the little gentleman." Sasha cooed. "He won't look."

"You're too precious." Jean said, leaning over and ruffling Armin's hair.

"I can't tell if he's being respectful or if he's afraid of tits." Ymir chimed in. "They're mostly covered in a bra, Arlert."

"Leave him alone." Annie said. "He doesn't have to look if he doesn't want to. I rather appreciate that he was the only one not gawking at my chest." Armin looked up then, and saw Connie and Jean had the decency to look chagrinned. However, Eren just looked rather delighted. "My turn." Annie said, grabbing the bottle and giving it a spin. It landed on Jean.

"Oh crap." He said.

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Jean said.

"I dare you to lick Connie's face."

"What?" Connie exclaimed.

"Done." Jean grabbed Connie's face and, in an exaggerated motion, dragged his tongue along the other boy's cheek.

Connie managed to break free of Jean's grasp and pushed him away. "Get off me, you animal!"

Everyone laughed as Jean spun the bottle. Armin felt his face flush as it landed on him. "So what'll it be, Armin? Truth or dare?"

Armin could understand Connie's earlier sentiment. He didn't want to pick. Either option was sure to be a minefield. But he had agreed to play this game, so he let out a groan before saying, "Dare."

"That was probably dangerous." Ymir laughed.

"Bold move, Armin. I respect that. But there will be no mercy. I dare you to touch Mikasa's boob."

"What?" Armin and Eren snapped at the same time. Armin could already feel his face turning bright red.

"You heard me." Jean replied.

"That's just cruel. I'm proud of you, Kirschstein." Ymir grinned.

"That's crossing a line." Eren argued.

"Really? Like five minutes ago, we were all staring at Annie's boobs! They were lovely, by the way." He added, looking at Annie.  
"Thanks." She said flatly.

"Yeah, but we weren't touching them without her permission." Eren continued to argue.

"It's fine." Mikasa said softly.

"What? Mikasa-"

"I said it's fine. If Armin wants to touch them…that's his decision."

Armin thought he might faint. Of course, as her boyfriend, Armin had wanted to feel her boobs, but not like this. Not in front of all of their friends, who didn't know they were together. "Look how red his face is." Connie laughed.

"What's it going to be, Arlert? Are you going to do it, or are you going to bitch out?" Jean asked.

"Armin, you don't-" Eren began. But Armin knew he would never hear the end of it if he didn't do it, so he took a deep breath, and reached out a hand, lightly patting Mikasa's boob.

"Oh shit, he actually did it." Ymir gasped.

"If he turns any redder, he might die." Sasha giggled.

Armin felt incredibly uncomfortable and wanted to melt into the floor. Everyone was staring at him. "Look at what you did, you stupid horse face! Now you broke him!" Eren exclaimed.

"What-" Jean started. He stopped as Armin reached out a hand and seized the bottle. "Why is that terrifying look in your eye, Armin?"

Armin had been seized by a sudden determination to make Jean pay for this. The bottle spun around and landed on Connie. "Truth or dare, Connie?"

Connie blanched. "Oh, God. Well, I certainly don't want to answer any of your questions. I choose dare."

That was what Armin had hoped Connie would say. A half crazed grin crossed his face. "I dare you to slap Jean's ass."

"WHAT?" Jean's head whipped around so fast. Eren erupted in hysterical laughter, and fell over.

"Karma's a bitch." Annie said.

"No, wait, Armin-" Swift as lightening, Connie shoved Jean over, and before Jean could react, cracked his hand across Jean's butt. "OW! What the fuck, dude?" Jean yelped, grabbing his ass.

The room dissolved into laughter. Eren was laughing so hard he had tears streaming down his face. "Oh, he got you so good!" The look of pure delight on Eren's face had Armin grinning. "Oh, that was beautiful." Eren sat up and slung an arm around Armin's shoulders, hugging him close. "That image is gonna stay with me awhile, so thank you for that."

"I hate all of you." Jean sulked, sitting up. "I'm not friends with any of you."

Connie spun the bottle and looked delighted at who it landed on. "Truth or dare, Ymir?"

"Truth."

"Awe, are you scared?"

"I know what you're after, Springer. I'm not showing you MY tits."

Connie actually looked dejected for a moment before his whole face lit up again. "Have you had sex with Historia?"

"A lady doesn't kiss and tell."

Eren snorted as he let go of Armin. "You're not a lady."

"No, I'm not. But Historia is."

"So, is that a yes, then?" Connie asked with a sly smile.

"It's a stop thinking about my girlfriend with your dirty mind before I kick your scrawny ass." Several of them laughed at the look on Connie's face as Ymir took the bottle. She spun it quickly and grinned as it came to a stop at Eren. "It's a dream come true. Truth or dare, Jaeger?"

"I'm going to regret this, I'm sure, but dare."

Armin felt a flash of fear as he saw Ymir's gaze flick from Eren to him and back again. She was planning something evil, he was sure of it. "I dare you to kiss Armin…on the lips."

There it was. Armin immediately looked at Eren. He wasn't going to do it, was he? "You're an evil woman. But I won't be out done by Horseface." Eren huffed.

"Wait, what?" Before Armin could move, Eren had grabbed Armin's face and pressed his lips to Armin's.

"Oooooooo." Several of them exclaimed. There were also several whoops. Armin was so surprised that his eyes stayed open, staring into Eren's green ones. After a moment, Eren pulled away, though he was still holding Armin's face. Armin's brain seemed to have short circuited. He couldn't seem to hold a coherent thought. Or move. Or breathe.

"Satisfied?" Eren asked, looking at Ymir.

"Very."

"Good. Then, I'm going to get more cake." Eren let go of Armin's face and stood up. Armin flopped over onto the floor. Eren walked out of the room.

"Poor thing. I think he's traumatized." Sasha stood up and leaned over Armin. She gently patted him on the head. "I'm gonna get more cake too." She said, straightening up and following Eren out of the room.

"Buck up, Armin. It'll be alright." Connie patted Armin on the shoulder before following Sasha.

Armin rolled over to lie on his back. From this position, he could clearly see Mikasa staring down at him from where she still sat next to him.

"Annie, why does your face look like that?" Jean asked. Armin turned his head to look at Annie. She did have a weird look on her face.

"I think that's jealousy you're seeing." Ymir answered.

"I don't know what she has to be jealous about. She already has a headstart on kissing Armin."

Annie's jaw dropped and Armin saw her face begin to turn red before he shifted his gaze. "Holy shit, Mikasa."

"Damn girl. Let it out. I'm going to get my phone in case this turns into a cat fight." Ymir hopped to her feet and bounded from the room.

"Wait, what are you saying?" Jean asked, sounding confused.

"None of your business." Annie snapped.

Armin was staring at Mikasa. If wasn't mistaken, she appeared to be jealous. "Mikasa-"

"Armin, did you and Annie kiss?" Jean interrupted.

"Your face looks as if YOU'RE jealous." Annie said pointedly.

Armin turned his head to look at Jean, who was getting a little red around the ears. "Jean, would it make you feel better if I kiss you too?"

"What? No! Shut up!" Jean's face was turning red.

"Are you sure? I'm an equal opportunity kisser."

"Since when?" Annie asked.

"Since I decided I needed to show affection to my friends." He answered without looking.

"That's it. I'm leaving." Jean rose to his feet and stalked out of the room.

"I'm going to see if there's any of that pot roast left. You coming, Armin?" Annie asked.

"Yeah, in a minute." Armin turned his head in time to see Annie leave.

"So…it finally happened." Mikasa said.

Armin looked at her. "Mikasa Ackerman, are you jealous?"

"Was it everything you ever dreamed of?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"Not even remotely." Something about her presence brightened and her expression was softer as she looked at him. "Mikasa-"

"So, it wasn't better than this?" She shifted so that she was leaning over him, her hair falling down around her face.

"Better than wha-" She leaned down, pressing her lips to his, kissing him deeply. Armin lifted his hands to cup her face. Mikasa lifted one arm to stroke his hair, and lost her balance. She landed on top of him, and he let out a small, "Oomph." Before laughing. "What is it with you and falling on me?"

Suddenly, she lifted her head and rolled off of him. A moment later, Eren came into the room to find the pair of them on their backs, staring up at the ceiling. "What the hell are you weirdos doing?"

Armin looked up at him. "Deciding if we should paint something on the ceiling." He said without missing a beat. "And who are you calling a weirdo?"

"Right. I brought you a piece of cake." Eren held out a plate and Armin sat up and took it.

"Thanks, Eren."

"Yeah, I had to fight Sasha and Connie, damn fiends."

Armin shook his head as Eren sat down and dug into his own slice. "You didn't bring any for Mikasa."

"Look, getting out of there with two slices and all of my limbs was hard enough. I figured we could share."

Mikasa sat up and Armin offered her a forkful of cake. She opened her mouth and let Armin feed her. After she chewed and swallowed, she looked at the boys. "Should we be hiding up here, leaving your grandfather to deal with all of them?"

"I think it'll be fine for a few minutes." Armin shrugged, taking his own bite of cake.

"Hey Armin, are you okay?" Eren asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean with earlier. You're not freaked out or anything?"

"Oh, I'm fine. It was just a game, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it was."

"Though I recall being little and you showering me in kisses all the time."

"What? No, I didn't." Eren stared at Armin. "We DID used to snuggle a lot though."

"Why did we stop doing that?"

"No idea." Eren shrugged.

"Hey, more cake please." Mikasa interrupted. Armin grinned at her as he fed her another forkful of cake. She was so cute. He watched her happily chewing and realized he could spend the rest of his life in these little moments with her, and with Eren.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

In the end, Connie and Ymir both also went home, leaving the others to sleep over. It involved a slight rearrangement of Armin's bedroom, but they figured it out. They blew up the air mattress and pulled Armin mattress onto the floor and all piled in to sleep. Grandfather had expressed concerns about the sleeping arrangements being coed, but by the time they all dropped off, they were so tired, they went right to sleep.

Armin awoke in the morning to the sense of being incredibly warm. He had ended up in the middle, so there were lots of bodies around him. He lifted his head to see how they had ended up sleeping, since he'd been the first to go to bed. He was lying on his right side, with Mikasa facing him on her left side, snuggled up against him. On her other side, Armin could see a swath of red hair that could only belong to Sasha. Next to Sasha was Jean, who was half off the mattress. Armin felt an arm around him and a body pressed against his back. Looking at the hand, he recognized it as Eren's. That meant Annie must be on the other side of Eren, somewhere behind Armin.

Feeling safe and content, he wrapped his arms around Mikasa, snuggled closed, and fell back to sleep. He woke up an indeterminate time later to whispering. "They can seriously sleep, can't they?" That sounded like Annie.

"It's like some weird pile. I mean, I knew they were close, but this is ridiculous." That was Jean.

"Throw in Sasha, and it's just weird."

He heard a familiar sigh. "Believe it or not, they've been sleeping like this for as long as they've been friends." Leave it to Grandfather to reveal personal stuff like that.

"Looking at them, I would believe it." Jean whispered.

"The true marvel is how any of them sleep on their own, with how codependent they've become." Grandfather added. "Well, come downstairs. I'm making coffee."

"Oh, I'd love some coffee right now." Annie whispered.

"Not a coffee drinker, but I'll take the conversation." Jean said.

Armin waited until the footsteps vanished down the stairs before opening his eyes. He thought his vision had gone wonky for a moment until he realized that Mikasa's hair was in his face. He brushed it off, then assessed the situation. He was on his back, with Mikasa's head on his chest and her arms wrapped around him. From what he could, Sasha had her head on Mikasa's back. Armin looked down as he realized his head was not on a pillow. It wasn't until he saw the familiar hand that he realized he was lying on Eren. As Armin used his best friend as a pillow, Eren had thrown an arm around Armin's chest, hugging him tightly. After a moment, Armin came to the conclusion that he was not getting up until the girls did.

Looking at how tangled up they were, Armin could understand why Annie and Jean were marveling at them. He just didn't think anything of it anymore because they had been sleeping like this since they started having sleepovers. But to an outsider, it must be strange. Apparently, Sasha had a similar attitude towards sleeping, so she fit right in with them.

Surprisingly, the first one to stir was Eren. That never happened. "Don't bother trying to get up." Armin whispered. "We're pinned down."

Eren rubbed a hand over his face. "What time is it?"

"No idea. Annie and Jean didn't get tangled up, so they're downstairs with Grandfather."

"Right. Hang on a sec."

Armin could feel Eren shifting around. "What are you doing?"

"Just hang on." After a few moments more, Eren settled back down. "Got it." He held up the book Jean had given Armin. "I thought we could look at it while we wait."

Armin smiled as Eren held the book up for both of them to look at. It reminded him of when they were younger. They paged through it slowly, Eren pointing stuff out and Armin explaining it. They were so engrossed in it that they missed Sasha waking up until she spoke. "You two are so adorable. Like, friendship goals." Sasha still had her head on Mikasa's back as she looked at them.

"Thanks. " Armin whispered.

"No, seriously. I would love to have a best friend like you guys."

"You'll find someone." Eren said softly. "We just got lucky and found each other young." He closed the book and patted Armin on the chest.

"There's coffee in the kitchen." Armin said, not sure how to reply to the conversation.

"Is there food?" Sasha asked.

"There will be once we're all awake."

Sasha lifted her head and looked at Mikasa. "Should I wake her up?"

"I don't recommend it." Armin answered.

"Yeah, that's hazardous to your health." Eren added. "She's killed for less."

Sasha's face paled slightly. "Okay. Well, I'm just gonna go tell the others that you guys are awake." She delicately climbed off the air mattress and left the room.

Armin turned his head to look at Eren. "We almost died there."

"For real. That was close." They grinned at each other.

After another few minutes, Mikasa began to stir. "Good morning, sleepy head." Armin said softly, running a hand through her hair.

"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"No idea. You're lying on us." Eren answered.

"Oh geez. Eren's awake?" she asked. She hadn't lifted her head yet, so most of her view was Armin's chest and stomach. She seemed really lethargic this morning, and unlike herself.

"Yeah, the world must be ending." Eren smirked.

"You okay, Mikasa? It's not like you to be this out of it." Armin's face wrinkled in concern.

"Or to sleep later than me." Eren added.

Mikasa turned her head so she was looking up at Armin's face. Her face looked slightly flushed. "I just didn't sleep well."

"Well here," Armin wrapped his arms around her and sat up. She felt really warm. "We'll go downstairs and get everyone started on breakfast, and you get some more sleep."

Eren rolled off the bed now that he was free. "You sure it's just lack of sleep? You look sick, Mikasa." His face looked concerned too.

"You DO feel a little feverish." Armin said, his hand on her forehead.

"I guess I don't feel that great. My head hurts."

"Yeah, you're sick. You stay up here and rest." Armin gently laid her down on the bed. "I'm gonna go tell Grandfather." He climbed off the mattress.

"Mikasa, do you want me to stay up here?" Eren asked, smoothing some hair off her forehead.

"Go on downstairs and eat." She said softly.

"Okay." Eren rose to his feet and followed Armin out of the room. "Oh thank god." He whispered as they descended the stairs. "I'm starving."

"I assume she knew that." Armin whispered back.

"Here they are! Can we have food now?" Sasha exclaimed.

"Where's Mikasa?" Grandfather asked.

"She doesn't feel well. I'm just going to make her some toast." Armin said, moving to the counter and popping a couple pieces of bread in the toaster.

"Oh, that's too bad." Grandfather said, turning on the stove and pulling his pancake batter out of the fridge. "Well, pancakes for everyone else."

"Excellent!" Sasha grinned.

"What's wrong with Mikasa?" Jean asked as Armin poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip.

"She's feverish." Eren answered.

"Armin? Did you just drink coffee…black?" Annie asked.

"Um…yes. Is that a problem?"

"No. It's just…I didn't have you pegged as a coffee drinker at all."

"He says it's bitter, like him." Eren smirked as he poured a glass of water and handed it to Armin. "For Mikasa."

"But Armin's not bitter." Annie said.

"That's what you think." Armin said as the toast popped. Armin put it on a plate and then balanced that, the water glass, and his coffee mug for the walk upstairs. "Mikasa, I brought some toast and water."

"Did you bring a gun to put me out of my misery?" she groaned from under a pile of blankets.

"No, I did not. Not sure where to get one on such short notice."

"Then, I'll take the water." Her hand emerged from the pile.

Armin knelt down and handed it to her, before taking a sip of his coffee. "You doing alright?"

Mikasa sat up, and Armin had to admit, she looked pretty miserable. Her hair was sticking up in all directions, and stuck to her sweaty face. "I feel like shit."

"You still look pretty." He said as he watched her take a sip of water.

"Liar." She replied before taking a piece of toast off the plate Armin was still holding.

"Am not."

"Are too. Eren would tell the truth."

"Well, Eren's downstairs stuffing his face, so you're stuck with me."

"Why aren't you downstairs eating too?" Mikasa took a small bite of toast.

"Because I'm taking care of you." He sat his mug and the plate down on his bedside table and crawled onto the mattress.

Mikasa crawled into his arms after setting her water down. "You should be with your guests." She continued to nibble on toast.

"You're my guest too."

"I'm going to get you sick."

"I think it's a little late for that, Mikasa." He smoothed her hair back and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Mikasa finished her toast and was quiet for a long time. Armin thought she fell back asleep when she finally spoke up again. "Can I have my water?"

"Yeah, of course." Armin leaned over and grabbed the glass off of the floor and handed it to her.

They were quiet for another long while when Eren poked his head in. "How ya feeling?"

"Like shit."  
"You look it."

Mikasa looked at Armin. "I told you he'd be honest."

Armin just shook his head as Eren continued speaking. "Right, I need you to let go of Armin because he needs to say goodbye to his guests."

"Nu uh." Mikasa set the water glass down and wrapped her arms around Armin's neck.

Eren let out a sigh and walked over. "Come here." He pried her arms off of Armin and wrapped his arms around her.

Jean and Sasha had come to stand in the doorway. "Is she okay?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, she just gets super cuddly when she's sick." Eren answered.

"Really?" Jean arched an eyebrow.

"Not with you, ya creep!" Eren tightened his grip on Mikasa as Armin got off the bed and walked over to the other two. "It's mostly with Armin anyway."

"Armin?" Sasha questioned.

"Yeah. He's super cuddly, like a human teddy bear or something."

"Really? Now I need to know." Sasha wrapped her arms around Armin and hugged him against her.

"Oh geez." Armin sighed.

"Oh my god! He is!" Sasha looked up at Jean, a look of pure joy on her face.

"Okay, time for you to go home. Come on." Armin patted her on the shoulder as he hugged her back.

"Feel better, Mikasa." Sasha called, letting go of Armin.

"Yeah, I hope you're better soon." Jean echoed.

"Thanks." Mikasa said softly.

Armin shooed them down the stairs. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you guys this morning."

"It's no problem. She can't help that she's sick." Annie was standing in the hallway, having already pulled on her coat. "You're a good friend." She gave him a smile.

"Yeah. I'd want Armin to take care of me when I'm sick." Sasha grinned, ruffling Armin's hair.

Armin stepped closer to Annie as the other two passed him to go into the living room to put on their shoes. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for inviting me." Annie seemed like she had something on her mind. "That stuff I said last week-"

Armin shook his head. "Water under the bridge."

Annie seemed relieved, and stepped forward and flung her arms around him. "Happy birthday."

"I am getting so many hugs today." Armin said as he hugged her back.

"Well, now that we know you're so snuggable, you will be getting so many more." Sasha said from behind him.

Annie pulled away and Armin spun around. "Thank you for coming, Sasha."

"Of course. I had so much fun. We should do this again." She wrapped Armin in a hug. "Oh my god, Jean. You have to do this. I don't want to stop hugging him!"

"Alright, get off of him and put your coat on." Jean had put his coat on while they had been talking.

Sasha reluctantly let go and went to put her coat on. "You sure you don't want a hug, Jean? They seem to be all the rage this morning." Armin smirked.

Jean let out a sigh and opened his arms. "Fine."

Armin smiled brightly and stepped over, letting Jean envelope him. Jean had a strong, sturdy body, and he was tall enough that Armin could nestle his face in Jean's chest. "Thank you for coming." He said, his voice muffled.

"You're killing me." Jean said, squeezing Armin tightly.

"You two are so cute." Sasha squealed.

"Alright, I'm leaving now." Jean said, releasing Armin and stepping up to the door, which Annie opened.

"I just want to hug him one last time." Sasha said, moving towards Armin.

"No, you don't." Jean caught her by the hood and dragged her out of the house, with Annie following behind. Armin went to the door and waved before closing it.

"Give these to Mikasa." Grandfather said from behind him. Armin spun around and saw he was holding a couple of Tylenol.

He took them and went back upstairs. "Mikasa, Granfather said for you to take these." Mikasa had her head on Eren's shoulder, but lifted it upon hearing Armin's voice. He walked over and picked up her water glass and handed it and the pills to her.

"Do you want me to call Mom and have her come pick you up in the car?" Eren asked as she took the pills.

"No. I'm not that sick." She handed her water glass back to Armin, who set in on the bedside table.

"You're acting that sick."

"I can walk home."

Armin took a sip of his coffee, made a disgusted face, and spit it back into his mug. "What's wrong with you?" Eren asked, looking up at him.

"It's cold." He said sadly, setting the mug back down.

"I'm sorry." Mikasa said.

"It's fine." He walked over to where they were. "Move over onto the air mattress, please."

"Why?" Eren asked.

"Because I would like to put my mattress back on my bed."

"Right." Mikasa flopped onto the air mattress while Eren scrambled to his feet to help Armin. After it had been returned, Armin walked over to Mikasa.

"Go lie on my bed. I wanna deflate the air mattress." He held out his hands and she took them. He pulled her to her feet, and walked her over to his bed. She let go of his hands and flopped onto the bed. Eren walked over, having collected all the blankets, and dumped they all on top of her. She let out a tiny, muffled moan.

Armin knelt down and pulled open the valve on the air mattress, and watched as it began to deflate. "I'm going to go get her shoes and stuff. Take her home." Eren said.

"I'll go with you."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I want to thank your parents for my presents anyway." Armin shrugged.

"Okay. I'll be right back, then." Eren left the room.

Armin quickly pulled on his shoes and stood up. He unburied Mikasa. "Sit up." He helped pull her into a sitting position. "Here, arms up." Armin grabbed his thickest sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. He left the hood up on it and wrapped her scarf around her neck. He guessed she must have taken it off in the night as he found it on the floor. She'd gotten it from Eren and almost always wore it, even in the middle of summer.

Eren returned, baring her shoes and coat. He'd already put on his own. Mikasa bent down and started tying her shoes. "Hat." She said simply.

Armin sighed, and grabbed the hat that Mrs. Jaeger had given him. "Ready to go?" He asked as Mikasa stood up and pulled on her coat.

"Where's your coat? It's November."

"I was planning on going out in just my tee shirt." He replied.

"It's downstairs. I just didn't feel like grabbing it." Eren said.

Mikasa just shook her head before the three of them set off downstairs. "Grandfather, I'll be back later." Armin called as he pulled on his coat.

"Okay, feel better, Mikasa." Grandfather called from the living room.

"Thank you. I'll try." Mikasa answered before they stepped outside.

"When did it get so cold?" Eren asked, rubbing his hands together as they started off towards the Jaegers'.

"It's November. It's always cold." Mikasa answered, resting her head on Armin as they walked. Armin wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Alright, smartass. I meant it wasn't nearly this cold last week."

"A cold front moved in." Armin said.

"That seems rather obvious."

"I'm not talking to you anymore, so why don't you go back to sleep, cranky?" Eren shot back.

"And just how am I supposed to walk and sleep at the same time?"

"I could give you a piggyback ride." Armin suggested.

"Really? Would you?" Mikasa lifted her head and looked at him.

"Sure." Armin came to a stop.

"Don't do that. You'll break him." Eren said.

"Are you calling me fat?" Mikasa asked.

"No, I'm calling Armin tiny."

"Shut up." Armin said as Mikasa hopped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He grabbed her thighs as she rested her cheek against his. "Let's go, Eren." He said as he started walking again.

"Holy shit, dude." They made it the rest of the way with minimal bickering. "Mom, we're home!" Eren called as he opened the front door.

"You're home early." Mrs. Jaeger said as she walked out of the kitchen. "I didn't expect you guys for another few hours. Hello, Armin."

"Hi, Mrs. J."

"Mikasa's sick." Eren said, moving to the stairs, and up to his bedroom.

"Really? What's wrong, honey?" She asked, putting a hand on Mikasa's forehead as Armin set her down on the ground. "Oh yeah, that's a fever. Grisha! Mikasa's sick."

"Grandfather gave her some Tylenol." Armin said as Mr. Jaeger stepped into the hall.

"How many?" Mr. Jaeger asked as he felt Mikasa's neck.

"Two. Can I go lie down now?" Mikasa asked, taking off her coat.

"Yes. Rest is probably the best thing for you." Mr. Jaeger said.

"Thanks for bringing her home, Armin. Did you have a nice party?" Mrs. Jaeger asked, stroking his cheek.

"I did. I wanted to thank you guys for the gift." He replied.

"Oh, you're very welcome, sweetheart." Mrs. Jaeger pulled him into a hug.

"I see you're already putting it to good use." Mr. Jaeger said, patting Armin's head. "Now, if only I could get my own kids to wear their winter hats."

"We're going upstairs now." Mikasa said, grabbing Armin's hand and pulling him out of the grasp of her parents. She towed him behind her to her bedroom where she shut the door. "Take off your coat." She said as she kicked off her shoes.

"Right." Armin said, taking off his coat and shoes. "What are we doing?"

"Going to sleep." She said, pushing him onto the bed flat on his back. She flopped down on top of him, her head resting on his chest. She lifted it and looked at his face. "The beanie is pretty attractive." She whispered, playing with a lock of his hair that was sticking out from beneath the hat.

"Well, I'll be sure to where it more often then." He smiled at her.

"Please do." She smiled back, before lying her head back down. Armin wrapped his arms around her as they dozed off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Mikasa ended up missing the next day of school. He felt bad. She must be pretty sick to miss school. Armin smiled at Ymir as she walked into Chemistry. She nodded her head at him. He was standing by his desk, looking at Mikasa's empty one when suddenly arms around him, and his back was pressed into someone's barrel chest. "What is happening?" He asked.

"Sasha said I was supposed to hug you." Reiner's voice came from above him. "She's right. You ARE like a teddy bear."

"This is not happening."

"How were you talking to Sasha?" Ymir asked.

"Group chat." Reiner answered, letting go of Armin.

"What group chat?" Armin asked, turning around to look at Reiner.

"Oh my god. You guys have a group chat without Armin?" Ymir guffawed.

"I can add you." Reiner said quickly.

"It's fine." Armn said, sitting down.

"No, really."

"I don't see you offering to add me." Ymir said in a mock offended tone.

"Do you WANT me to add you?"

"Who's in it?"

"Me, Sasha, Connie, Bertolt, Jean, and Eren."

"Wait, wait, wait. Jaeger is in a group chat…with Kirschstein…that Armin is not in? Am I hearing this right?"

"I think I'd prefer to stay out of it, actually." Armin said, looking at them. He knew, given the people in it, that they would blow up his phone if he joined, and it would be a bunch of stupid crap. Ymir laughed.

Before anyone could say anything else, the teacher walked in and started class. The day passed like any other, though three more people came up and hugged him, all exclaiming that he was indeed extremely huggable. He'd honestly expected it from Connie, though he was a little surprised when Bertolt did it. The truly surprising one was when Historia hugged him at the end of Economics. "Seriously? How do you even know about this?"

"Ymir told me." She giggled.

"Of course she did." Armin shot Ymir a dirty look around Historia. Ymir just grinned at him. He felt oddly lonely at lunch, because Eren actually decided to go to his music class.

"I told you Jaeger was only here for Ackerman. Look, she's not here and neither is he." Annie said.

"Shut up, Annie." Reiner said, shooting a glare at her around Bertolt.

"It does seem a little harsh." Bertolt said.

"That's not what I meant." Reiner replied. "I don't care about her insulting Eren."

Armin was staring down at the table. He looked up and gave Annie a half hearted smile. "I don't know what you do with all the space, Annie. A whole bench to yourself seems like too much."

"You're welcome to come sit with me if you're lonely." Annie replied.

The table grew quiet for a few moments as Armin blushed and looked down again. "Armin, did you really say you're an equal opportunity kisser?" Historia asked.

He looked over at her. "Um, yes. It just sort of came out."

"I'm more surprised you offered to kiss Jean. What did his face look like?" Reiner asked.

"Like he was going to melt." Ymir laughed.

"You should have seen his face when Armin hugged him." Annie said without looking up from her food.

"Oh my god, they hugged?" Historia giggled.

Armin could feel his face flushing again. He looked back down at the table. He wasn't even sure why he was blushing. "You know, Ymir, you're like the only one who hasn't hugged me in the past two days."

Ymir stared at him. "Do you want me to hug you, Armin?"

"I don't know, but it feels like there's this tension between us because it hasn't happened yet." He was fighting to hide his smile.

Ymir stood up. "Ymir, what are you doing?" Historia asked, her voice concerned.

"I'll do you one better than a hug, Mr. Equal-Opportunity-Kisser." She smirked, standing over him. Armin felt like something bad was about to happen. Sure enough, Ymir leaned down, grabbed his chin and pressed her lips to his. He glanced across the table and saw wide eyed looks of shock. Reiner and Bertolt had their mouths open. Annie looked like she was grinding her teeth. Meanwhile, Historia had facepalmed.

Armin recoiled violently when he felt Ymir's tongue on his lips. He fell backwards and banged his head on the bench. Ymir laughed and straightened up. "What is wrong with you?" Historia huffed.

"Are you okay, Armin?" Annie asked.

"That sounded like it hurt." Bertolt commented.

"I think I've been violated. I need an adult." Armin said quietly.

That made Ymir laugh even more. "Come on, lover boy. It's time for gym."

Gym class ended up being Armin's worst nightmare. They were playing dodgeball. "I'm going to die." Armin said quietly as the captains were picked.

"Haven't you played this game before?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, but I always just hid behind Mikasa. She was always a captain and she always picked me." Not surprisingly, Armin was one of the last kids picked. He didn't blame them. He wouldn't pick himself either. He ended up on the same team as Jean, Annie, and Historia. Ymir was on the other team. It wasn't long into the first game before Armin dove behind Annie. "Annie, save me!"

"Armin, be a man!" Jean called to him.

"I am comfortable enough with my masculinity to hide behind a strong woman!" He watched Ymir get Historia out.

"I'll protect you on one condition." Annie said.

"What the condition?"

Annie looked at him as she stepped out from in front of him. "You tell me who you're dating."

She could be so mean. But he knew he had to act as he saw a ball coming for his head. So, he blurted out the first name that came to mind as he dove behind Annie. "Jean! I'm dating Jean!"

"WHAT?!" Armin looked over to see Jean's jaw drop open. He also got to witness the moment Jean got nailed in the face with a ball Armin suspected was thrown by Ymir, given her reaction, which was to double over while laughing hysterically. The ball hit Jean hard enough to knock him to the ground.

"Holy shit!" Armin exclaimed.

"Ow! Fuck!" Jean yelled, his hands over his face.

"Please don't let that happen to me." Armin said to Annie.

"You're lucky you're cute and I want to keep it that way." She patted his cheek. "Fine, I'll protect you."

Armin came out on the other side of gym class alright, which was more than could be said for Jean. Jean's nose was already showing a bruise. "I cannot believe you just hid behind Annie the whole damn time. Or that she let you."

"You see, Jean, I am small and adorable. I have a baby face and big blue eyes. People think I look like a baby animal and have a strong desire to protect me, especially girls. I've accepted it. You gotta learn to work with what you got."

"You're unbelievable."

"And yet I'm not the one who got nailed in the face." Armin grinned as they headed out of the locker room.

"That seriously hurt." Jean moaned.

"I wasn't watching but I'm about 95% sure it was Ymir who threw it."

"Of course she did, wicked bitch."

"Do you ever consider that it's because you call her names that she does things like cream you in dodgeball?"

"She's a chaos harpy who likes to watch the world burn. It wouldn't matter if I didn't call her names. She would still pull this shit."

Armin shrugged as he stopped outside his study hall. "Look, I'm not saying there's a correlation, but I don't call her names and she's never attempted to take my head off."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you later."

"Have fun in trig." Armin turned and walked into the classroom, where he was immediately cornered by Eren.

"Is it true that Ymir kissed you at lunch?"

"Jesus, Eren! Give a guy a second to get his bearings." Armin stepped around him and walked to his desk.

Eren followed him. "Well? Is it?"

"Yes, Ymir kissed me at lunch. I'm thoroughly traumatized. How do you know about this?"

"Bertolt told me in chemistry. Why did she do it?"

"Because, and I'm quoting Jean here, she's a chaos harpy who likes to watch the world burn. Also I may have slightly egged her on, though that was not the end result I was after."

"I can't see that being an end result anyone would be after." Eren said sympathetically.

"Historia." Armin commented, making Eren nod his head in agreement. "So, how's Mikasa?"

"She was texting me earlier. Still feels like crap."

"That's too bad."

"I missed her in trig." Sasha said, having just walked into the room. "Tell her I hope she feels better."

"I will." Eren said.

"Hey, speaking of telling people things, Sasha. Could you stop telling people to hug me?"

"Do you not like hugs, Armin?"

"It's not that I don't like them. It's that I prefer to consent to them instead of being randomly grabbed. It's a personal space thing."

"You've never had an issue with me." Eren said.

"I've known you since I was six. You're family at this point."

That made Eren smile. "Do you need me to be your bodyguard? Protect you from all forms of unsolicited PDA?"

"How are you going to be my bodyguard when we never see each other?"

"I'll just skip all my classes. Follow you around all day."

"Can't possibly see how that might go wrong."

"No, no, but think about it. It won't be like I'm missing any of the core classes. I just started taking them at a different time. This is genius."

"This is a terrible idea." Clearly they had a laid back proctor today. So, Armin decided to sit on his desk. Eren and Sasha followed his example.

"I think your plan has merit, Eren." Sasha said.

"Don't encourage him, Sasha." Armin shook his head. "You don't have to deal with the fall out from when he tried his little plan, which will only get him as far as 2nd period before Mikasa drags him off to his scheduled class."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have 2nd period with Mikasa, and so that's how far he will make it before she drags him off to their third period history class."

"Shit, you're right. Dammit." Eren sighed. "Well, it was a good dream while it lasted."

"I'm sorry to have to rain on your parade. But it's better it happens now than when Mikasa has a hold of you by the ear."

"Mikasa pulls you around by the ear?" Sasha asked.

"She learned it from Mom." Eren huffed.

"Ouch." Sasha winced sympathetically.

"It is rather painful."

"Hey, Eren, want to hear something funny?" Armin asked.

"Do you even have to ask?"

"In gym class, Jean took a dodgeball to the face."

"What? Why are you just telling me now? Tell me everything!" Eren looked absolutely delighted. He had a weird relationship with Jean. Sometimes, it was like they were good friends. Other times, it was like they hated each other, which they had when they first met. Armin could never figure out what their relationship was and just operated under the guise that they were begrudgingly friends for the sake of all their mutual friends.

"Okay, so I was hiding behind Annie."

"Understandable. Mikasa's not in your gym class."

"Thank you for not judging me like Jean did."

"Like you said, I've known you since we were six. Also, I'm better than old Horse Face. Please continue."

"Okay, well Jean was yelling at me, and I just got to watch this ball come sailing through the air and it just nailed him in the face. He went flying through the air and hit the ground. And he swore a lot."

Eren had his eyes closed and a wicked smile on his face. Armin knew he was picturing what Armin was describing. "I want you to know that this has cleared my skin and watered my crops."

Armin shook his head. "Jean's going to have a bruised face."

"Even better." Eren opened his eyes. "Do you know who threw it?"

"I wasn't looking, but I'm pretty sure it was Ymir."

"Oh, that beautiful girl. I could kiss her."

"I already did, and I don't recommend it."

Sasha's eyes had been flicking back and forth between them like she was watching a tennis match. "Seriously, you two are friendship goals." She finally said.

"We try." Eren said. "I am seriously going to fall asleep tonight to the sweet vision of Horse Face getting creamed."

"You're terrible, you know." Armin said, shaking his head.

"And yet you're the one told me, so what does that make you?"

"An enabler.' Armin answered simply.  
"Armin?" A voice behind him said.

He spun around and saw two of their classmates, Mina Carolina and Hanna Diamont. "Hey guys. What's up?"

"Well, we heard it was your birthday over the weekend." Mina started.

"And we got you a present." Hanna finished.

The two girls held out a small wrapped box. "You girls didn't have to do that." He smiled, reaching out and taking it.

"We wanted to." You're always so sweet to everyone, helping everyone when they need it, and always remembering everyone's birthday." Hanna said.

"We just wanted to repay a little bit of that kindness." Mina smiled.

"Go ahead and open it." Hanna giggled.

"Okay." Armin glanced back at Eren before unwrapping the present.

"Thomas and Franz also chipped in." Mina added.

Armin opened up the box to see a mug inside. He pulled it out and saw it had their class photo on it, with all of his friends. And it said, 'we love you oodles, Armin.' He thought he might cry as he looked up at the girls. "Thank you so much. I love it."

"Awe, we're glad." Hanna looked like she might cry too.

Armin set the mug down and pulled Hanna into a hug. "Make sure you tell Franz I said thank you." He whispered.

"I will." She whispered back before pulling away.

"Can I have a hug?" Mina asked.

"Of course." Armin hugged her as well.

"Oh my god, Sasha! You were right." Mina gasped.

"I told you." Sasha giggled.

Armin hung his head. "I swear to God, Sasha."

"Uh oh. He sounds mad." Mina giggled, pulling away.

Armin spun around and shot Sasha a glare. "How many people did you tell?"

"Um…everyone I know."

"Ha! You're so fucked dude!" Eren grinned.

"Thanks for your support. I swear, if this turns into a whole thing and I just keep getting hugged by random people, I'm going to kill-no. I'm going to sic Mikasa on you!"

Sasha gasped loudly. "You wouldn't!"

"I would!" He hissed. "And YOU!" he turned his attention to Eren.

"What did I do?' Eren asked indignantly.

"This is all your fault. You're the one who told Sasha."

"Oh shit, I did. Would it help if I said I love you?"

Armin considered it for a moment. "It might."

Eren hopped off his desk and stood in front of Armin. "Armin, you're my oldest friend and I love you more than I love my father."

Armin shook his head and looked down at the mug again. He wasn't used to feeling this loved. He could feel the tears in his eyes. Ugh, he didn't want to cry at school. But Eren really showed he was Armin's best friend. He wrapped his arms around Armin, hugging him close so that Armin's face was hidden. "Hey, you all better back off!" Eren exclaimed to the classroom. "Armin is MY teddy bear! And Mikasa's. Not your's. We found him first. So, you all need to stop stepping in our territory, or we'll start kicking asses."

Armin took the time to wipe his eyes. "Eren, you can't threaten to kick people's asses at school." He whispered.

"Okay, my teddy bear says I can't threaten people, so pretend I never said that last bit." The class laughed. "But my threat still stands."

The final bell rang. "Alright, get off." He gently pushed Eren off and grabbed his stuff. He carefully put the mug back in the box and put the whole thing in his backpack.

"Come on!" Eren said, seizing Armin's hand. "Let's go see Mikasa!" Armin let himself get towed from the room by Eren, with Sasha trailing behind giggling.


	15. Chapter 15

The days blurred into weeks during that stretch between Armin's birthday and winter break. The days got colder and the students got busier, as the teachers piled on work before the end of term.

"It's not fair." Eren complained one day in December as they were leaving school. "You'd think there would be LESS work at the end of term."

"Why would you think that?" Mikasa asked. "The teachers have to get caught up now so they can start where they're supposed to in January."

"Well, it's not our fault they got behind."

"Yes, it is." Armin said. They had made it about a block down the street when he came to a stop. "Crap."

"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked, stopping too.

"I forgot my trig book."

Eren groaned. "Really, dude? Now we have to go back?"

"Just go on without me. I'll go back by myself."

"Are you sure?" Mikasa looked at him.

"Yeah, it's fine." Armin turned back towards school.

"See you later then." Eren called as he and Mikasa walked in the opposite direction.

Armin silently cursed himself as he hurried back. It was cold as hell out. It had been snowing and everything was icy. Just miserable weather. He was hurrying up the stairs and almost made it to the top, when his foot hit an unsalted patch, and he was falling. "Oh, shit!" He exclaimed as he fell. He bounced off the pavement and the proceeded to roll down the stairs. He landed in a heap at the bottom.

He heard two different voices react to his misfortune, both of which sounded familiar. "Oh, shit dude!" A male voice exclaimed.

"Oh my goodness! Are you okay?" A sweet feminine voice called. Hands helped him roll over and he looked up at the face of an angel. "Armin?" Historia exclaimed.

"Oh, fuck! It's Armin?" The owner of the male voice appeared.

"Hey, Jean." Armin groaned.

"As graceful as ever, Arlert." Jean said, crouching down.

"Shut up." He tried to sit up and the other two grabbed him, pushing him back down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy. Slow down."

"Armin, you're bleeding."

"Shit. That explains this headache then."

"What did you do, bounce your face off the pavement?" Jean asked.

"It feels like I did It was all kind of a blur."

He heard a car door slam and feet come running over and suddenly Annie appeared, leaning over him. "Fuck, is he okay?"

"Oh, yay. Annie's here too. This day just gets better and better." Armin muttered.

"Shut up." Jean said, unzipping his jacket.

"What are you-oh my god." Armin watched Jean rip off the bottom half of his t shirt, revealing some very nice looking abs, in Armin's opinion. Jean took the fabric and pressed it to Armin's head. "I don't even know how to react to this."

The girls seemed to be ignoring the half shirtless Jean situation that was unfolding. "That's a lot of blood. I think we'd better take him to the hospital." Historia said.

"He probably needs stitches." Annie commented.

"He should probably be checked for a concussion." Jean added.

"Yeah, should we call an ambulance?"

"My car's right here."

"Are you okay to drive him?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

Armin finally had enough. "Hey, if I don't need to be a part of this conversation, I think I'd like to go home."

"Shut up. You're going to the hospital." Jean said.

"Your bedside manner needs work, dude." Armin replied. "Anyway, aren't you cold?"

"Let's sit you up." Annie said, nudging past Historia.

"Thanks. That's all I've been trying to do for five minutes now."

"Being injured makes you feisty." Historia said. "I don't know if I've ever heard you swear before."

"I have, after YOUR girlfriend hit me in the face with a dodgeball."

"That was pretty hilarious." Annie grinned. She put a hand behind Armin's head, and gently, she and Jean pulled him first into a sitting position, and then standing.

"Alright, easy does it." Jean helped support Armin as Annie moved ahead of them.

"My car's right here." Annie opened the back door and Armin and Jean climbed in the back. Historia hopped in the front seat as Annie climbed in and drove off.

"I'm capable of holding the cloth to my own head." Armin put his hand over Jean's.

"Shut up."

"Would you stop telling me to shut up?" Armin snapped.

"He really is feisty." Annie said.

"I wish you all had just left me in the street." Armin muttered.

"Armin, should I call someone?" Historia asked, turning to look at him. "Your grandfather, maybe?"

"Logic tells me yes, but it's not a conversation I want to deal with." He answered.

"I'll call him after the doctor looks at you." She said, turning back around.

It didn't take long to get to the hospital. It must have been alarming to see them come in, Armin covered in blood, Jean missing half his shirt. They got taken back right away. A doctor came to see him. "What happened here?" She asked as she pulled the bloody cloth off of his head.

"I slipped on some ice and fell down the stairs."

"Oh, dear. That must have hurt." She said as she studied his wound. "Well, you're going to need stitches." The doctor pulled out a flashlight and began to check his eyes and go through the basic checks. His name, his birthday, the date, etc.

The doctor gave him the all clear, and said she would be back to his stitches. "I'll go call your grandfather now." Historia said, rising to her feet. The small exam room was looking a little crowded, the three of them smushed onto the one side.

"Tell him not to come here." Armin said. "Tell him I'll meet him at home."

"I will."

"Thank you." He pulled out his phone and texted Mikasa what ahd happened. He didn't want to see how she'd react if he didn't. Historia left the room. "So, Jean." Armin said, looking at his friend. "Are you just trying to show off your abs at this point? Like, we get it. You're ripped. You don't have to mock me with them."

Annie looked at Jean and grinned. "Zip up your jacket. You look like a tool."

"Why am I getting ganged up on?" Jean asked as he zipped up his jacket. "Here I am, being a fantastic friend, and I'm getting called names."

"Shut up, Jean." Annie said, shaking her head. "I'm gonna go check on Historia." She left the room.

"How ya feeling?" Jean asked.

"Like I fell down the stairs. How about you?"

Jean shook his head. "So, I texted Marco."

"So you're saying that everyone is going to know by tomorrow?"

"That is correct."

"Dammit. I am never going to live this down."

"Eh. If you were Jaeger, definitely not, but you're Armin, so I think they'll be more concerned, and happy you're okay."

Armin didn't know what to say to that. Luckily, the doctor came back into the room. "Alright. Let's get started." Even though he was given a local anesthetic, he still found himself wincing as she began to put the stitches in. Apparently, Jean noticed, and reached out and took Armin's hand. Armin was grateful.

Historia came in as Armin was being allowed out of bed. "You ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah. I've been set free. Where's Annie?" He asked as he pulled on his coat and bookbag.

"In the waiting room. She said it was too crowded in here."

"Alright, let's get out of here." Jean said, putting a hand on Armin's back.

They headed out to the waiting room. Annie rose to her feet as they came out. Her face was concerned as her gaze came to rest on the big white bandage on Armin's head. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Armin glanced at Jean, who just shook his head. "I've been better." Armin answered.

"I can imagine. You just stay here. I'll go pull the car around." With that, she left.

"Is she acting strange?" Jean asked.

"How do you mean?" Armin looked at him.

"She's acting…nice."

"Annie IS nice." Armin replied.

"To who?"

"Armin." Historia answered. Armin felt his face flush red. "Bertolt. Sasha. Eren on a good day. She's always been nice to me."

"Yeah, so it must just be you." Armin said, patting Jean on the shoulder.

"And Reiner." Historia added. "And she has that weird thing with Mikasa."

Armin realized that there was probably a connection between the people Annie liked, and their relationship with the people she didn't. "We're done talking about this." He said as Annie pulled up outside with the car.

"Come on." Jean said as the three of them walked outside.

"Armin, your house is closest to mine, so you sit up front." Annie said.

"Right." Armin did as he was told.

"Wait, you're going to give me a ride too?" Jean asked as Historia climbed in the backseat.

"Shut up and get in before I change my mind, Kirschstein." She snapped.

"Yes, ma'am." He climbed in the car and shut his mouth.

"Idiot." Annie muttered as she drove off. Armin smiled. Annie glanced at him and she tried to hide it, but Armin saw a small smile grace her lips. They stopped at Jean's house first. "Here you go, moron."

"Wait, how do you know where Jean lives?" Armin asked.

"Don't ask." Jean grumbled, climbing out of the car.

Armin's eyes grew wide and he looked at Annie. "Now, I HAVE to know."

Annie's facial expression didn't change. "I'll tell you one day, when he really annoys me."

"So, next sleepover then?" Historia giggled.

"Probably."

Armin watched Jean go into his house as Annie drove off. "I can't tell what I'm more looking forward to, whatever this embarrassing story is, or his face as you tell it."

"You certainly have an interesting relationship with him." Historia commented.

"I'm convinced if I hadn't been friends with Eren first, Jean would be my best friend."

"That's an interesting thing to think about." Historia said.

"By the way, what did my grandfather say on the phone?" Armin asked, twisting around to look at her.

"Well, once I said you were able to go home, he didn't worry about leaving work. So, he said to tell you he'll see you when you get home. And that was about it."

"Alright, well thanks for calling hime." He smiled at her.

She smiled back. "It really wasn't a big deal."

"But still." They came to a stop outside of Historia's house. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She said. "Thank you for the ride, Annie." Annie nodded as Historia got out of the car.

"Thank you, Annie." Armin said, looking at her as they drove off.

"You don't have to thank me, Armin. I'm just glad you're okay."

He gave her a smile. "Still, thank you."

"I'm just doing what a friend should do." She stared straight ahead.

He grew quiet. She didn't seem to want to talk. But a question popped into his head. "How do you know where Historia lives? I didn't know that."

"She was my lab partner in bio last year. We used to study together."

"Oh, cool. I was partnered with Sasha."

"I bet that was an adventure."

"It was. But she's smarter than everyone gives her credit for. She just thinks in an out of the box way. There's nothing wrong with that."

Annie grew quiet for a moment. "Can I just ask you one question? I won't ask who it is, I know now you're determined to keep quiet about that. But," she parked the car in front of Armin's house and looked at him. "Are you happy? Do they make you happy?"

"Yes, they do."

Annie reached over and took his hand. "Then, I'm happy for you." She squeezed his hand before climbing out of the car.

"You don't have to walk me in." he said as he did the same.

"Armin? Are you okay?" He saw Mikasa coming up the sidewalk.

"Your timing is uncanny." He grinned at her.

Mikasa ignored his comment, and gently ran her fingers over his bandage. "It looks bad."

"It's only 8 stitches."

"That's a lot of stitches, Armin. That's more stitches than you should have in your head."

"Well, I'm gonna go now." Annie said.

Mikasa tucked an arm around Armin as they both looked at Annie. There was something about her expression that led Armin to suspect that Annie knew. But he trusted her not to say anything. Annie wasn't the type to spread other people's business…unless you pissed her off. "Thank you, Annie." Mikasa said. Armin looked at her, surprised.

Annie looked just as surprised. "My pleasure, Mikasa."

"Bye, Annie." Armin said.

"Goodbye, Armin." She said before getting into her car.

"Let's get you inside." Mikasa said. He pulled the keys out of his pocket as she led him up the front steps. She took the keys and unlocked the front door. Armin glanced back in time to watch Annie pull away. "To the couch. Do you want anything?" Mikasa pulled him into the house and shut the door. "An ice pack or-"

"I'm fine." He said, pulling off his coat. Mikasa took it from him. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have been annoyed at being treated like an invalid. But he didn't mind when it was Mikasa.

"You sure?" She asked as she pulled off her own coat.

"Yes, babe." He answered, moving to the living room and sitting on the couch. "Where's Eren anyway? I would have expected him to be here."

"I didn't tell him." Mikasa said, walking in.

"You didn't tell him?" Armin raised his eyebrows, which made him wince.

"Are you okay?" Mikasa hurried over and sat next to him, her face concerned.

"It's nothing. Why didn't you tell Eren?"

She gave him a sheepish grin. "Because I wanted you all to myself."

He smirked at her. "Whatever for, Miss Ackerman?"

Her smile grew as she leaned forward and kissed him softly. "So I can nurse you back to health."

"I feel better already." He said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer as he kissed her more deeply. His hand slid up under her shirt, and his fingers slid across the soft skin of her back. He felt her shiver and smiled in the kiss. His fingers had just reached her bra when his cellphone began to ring. "Son of a bitch." He muttered as Mikasa pulled back. "I don't have to answer it." He said to her.

"You had probably better. It could be important." She replied as she fixed her shirt.

"It better be." He said as he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Armin? Oh my god! Mom just told me what happened? Are you okay?" Eren's voice was loud enough that Armin held the phone away from his ear.

"I'm fine, Eren. I got 8 stitches in my head."

"Holy shit, dude! Do you need me to come over? Mom said I shouldn't since Mikasa is already over there, but I'll ignore her if you need me to."

"You better not let her hear you say that." Mikasa said.

"Hey, Mikasa, what the fuck? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You were napping. I didn't want to wake you."

"This is the kind of thing you wake me up for!"

"Yeah, Eren." Armin cut in. "I have a headache and just want to rest." He could imagine Eren's pout. "I'll show you my stitches tomorrow."

"Wicked! I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, bye Eren." Armin hung up and stared at Mikasa. "Sometimes, I could just choke him."

"No, you couldn't." She smiled. "But I could do it for you."

He shook his head. "It's not too late to pick up where we left off."

Mikasa laughed. "Alright, tiger. Your grandfather will be home soon."

"I swear, one of these days, we will be able to make out without getting interrupted." He sighed.

"One day, babe." She said, leaning in and kissing him on the lips.

"Grandfather certainly has no reason to worry about STDS or pregnancy. I can't even get far enough to get your shirt off." He rested his head against the back of the couch. "I'm never going to lose my virginity."

"Never say never." Mikasa smirked. "That day will come, slugger." She kissed him more deeply. He gently cupped her face, running a hand through her hair.

The front door opened and Mikasa sprung back. "Armin?" Grandfather called.

"And there it is." Armin sighed, making Mikasa laugh. She kissed him on the cheek. "In here, Grandfather." He called.


End file.
